Spoiled Yet Selfless
by Omnidolor
Summary: You used me. You took it all away: My friends, my family, my life. But I won't let you take him... Not even if I have to destroy you with my own bare hands.." - Aeris
1. All Alone

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

AN: I am trying to be original in my plot, but if you don't like this, then I'm sorry. Usually my expectations are so high, I can't even reach them. Also, I am a Cloud/Aeris fan, however, I try to keep my fanfics realistic, so there are always going to be Cloud/Tifa moments. I'm even avoiding Yuffie bashing, I only think it's fair. However, for you Vincent/Yuffie fans, I regret to say that you won't see anything of the kind in here. Why? I don't think they'd make a good couple. Yuffie is brash and energetic; Vincent is quite, dark, and almost gothic. Another thing, the rating might go up, especially since this one is based on madness. This WILL be twisted. Oh, and for those of you who downloaded game music on gamingforce, I suggest you play it. It sounds cool. I decided to try something new, where anything within the #'s signals game music. If you review, please tell me if you like this idea. And one more thing: I am VERY lazy, and tend to procrastinate quite a bit, so please, if you somehow happen to like my story, and I don't update, send me emails/IM me on AOL/ or bug me in your reviews to update. Be as rude as you'd like, because it'll be the only way to get me off my butt to work. However, be reasonable. I have school with lots of homework plus colorguard, and it is time consuming. I also tend to rewrite my work. Even so, feel free to IM with opinions and suggestions and comments.

Remember: #'s signal music.

Warning: Very twisted. Sadistic at some parts.

Now on to the friggin' story, that is, if you're still here. O_O

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#Xenogears – Omen#

She could have screamed into the darkness, and if people had been there, no one would notice. The dark was so black, her opening shining green eyes left no glow. She couldn't even see her hands. Her skin held no sense of touch, and yet, she felt cold. There was no wind, no color, no _anything_**, **except that she felt clammy. She had barely any energy, but she wasn't tired. In fact, it seemed to her that she was sleeping for centuries.

She knew she died. And it was that fact that confused her. And it was that one simple fact that went against all nature. _Dead people can't feel_.So why did she feel so cold? And where was she? When a person died, they headed to their Promised Land until it was time for them to be reborn. As far as she could tell, she was absolutely nowhere. Nothing to see, nothing to hear, and nowhere to move, for she simply floated in a slightly curled position. Her dress did not hang, nor did it sway. There was nothing here for her. This wasn't her Promised Land. 

She blinked, trying to take in her situation. She was in an empty abyss, conjured of an absolute hole. Slowly, she remembered what had happened before her mind started to function. It was all coming back to her: Avalanche, the Temple of the Ancients, Holy, the Black Materia, Sephiroth, Jenova, Cloud, how the planet had told her of her duty in life… The simple duty of praying to an unknown yet awesome power that had taken her life. She was supposed to see what had happen after her untimely death, the ultimate choice of whether Holy would succeed or not all depending on her timing. But due to some reason, she saw none of it. It was like she was asleep for years. Who knew what the time was? It could be a week after Meteor, or three days prior to it. She didn't know, couldn't know. But how much she desired to know, to see what had happened to her friends, her enemies, and Meteor. _Planet_… she thought, and tried to reach out to it, praying to it to find questions to her answers. 

No response.

The girl stopped, and tried again. Still no answer. What if Meteor had destroyed the Planet, and that was why she was in a blank pit of nothingness? She trembled slightly. Never before had she felt such an awkward form of fear. If that was the case, then she was probably going to spend the rest of eternity within this hellhole. She shook herself, suddenly feeling ashamed of her cowardliness. Never before had she lost hope, why lose it now? It was then that she realized how dependent she was on the Planet, always asking for guidance. Sure, she could stand on her own two feet, but with Planet always leading the way, no wonder she felt so weak. She needed to find out was going on, and to find a way out of there. But how do you leave a dream with no beginning, and no end?

For what seemed like days she laid there, deep in thought. She had tried to reach any other sort of life, but to no avail. She even tried for Cloud, but still the same lack of answer. Then, when she started to become desperate, she tried the Planet even more. The absolute solitude was finally digging itself into the roots of her soul, causing her to shiver. The terrible cold feeling was still with her, and she couldn't get it to go away.

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Cetra…..

She inwardly gasped. She heard, no, _knew_ someone or something had tried to contact her. Thought she was always one to ask how they knew of her, the sound of the disembodied voice gave her comfort from the panic that was gut wrenching. She finally straightened her body out, and taking a standing position, looked around to see where the voice was coming from.

"Hello?" she whispered.

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Cetra, come unto me…

To her left. She gazed onward, even though there was nothing there. She become drawn to the voice, and had started to walk that way unconsciously.

_Yes, toward the light. Thy life. Thy very existence. _

A dim twinkle appeared, which grew larger until it exploded in blinding white light, enveloping her. As it faded away, little bits of Life Stream glittering as it rained down softly, she immediately realized where she was. A cozy home with a plush sofa, cherry wood tables, a decorative staircase, and some scientific computers against a wall. A woman in a red dress played with a little girl in green. The adult softly tossed a blue ball toward the girl. It bounced dreamily toward the child, who smiled, carefully snatched it, and slowly tossed the ball back. A man, who looked like a scientist, opened the front door and entered the cheerful room. A blizzard was taking place outside, and the man grinned as he entered. The little girl turned, shouted something inaudible, and ran to hug the man. The woman stood peacefully, smiling so beautifully toward him. She, too, walked over and hugged him. It was a wonderful scene, yet the 22-year old just gaped at it all.

"Ifalna…? …Dad…?" she breathed, and tears had started to well up in her eyes.

_Yes… Thy scientist, Professor Gast and thy Cetra Ifalna Gast. Two different beings, one bonded soul. Until…_

The people drifted away, only to be replaced in a different part of the room. Ifalna was holding the girl, and Professor Gast was shouting at some soldiers who had stormed the house, guns loaded. An argument was taking place, and thought it lacked sounds, she remembered every bit of it. Afterward, another scientist entered the room, said something, and the soldier shot Gast in cold blood. Another soldier looked up at a camera, which was videotaping the scene, and shot it. The scene faded away. The girl, who had fallen to her knees, whispered, "Why…?"

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What is thy problem, Child? 

"Why are you showing me this?" she asked pathetically, as an image of the Temple of the Ancients began to appear.

_In due time, my Child, Aeris, in due time. _

AN (again): It's a long chapter, and it lacks the plot, but that's coming up next chapter. This is just a taste. Please give me opinions. And I mean serious opinions. I need critiquing. BTW, I haven't played this game in a long time, so some things might be off.

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	2. How Hatred Burns

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

AN: Yeah! Someone likes my story! ^_^ Thanks much Highway Woman! I'll keep writing for you.!

Note to Flamers: I don't mind being critiques, however, if flamed, I dish it back. So think before reviewing.

Now, with that all cleared up, on to the story! ^^'

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Cold.

It's so cold.

It's supposed to be warm.

Or so I'm told.

But when I look inside of me

The only thing I can be.

Is cold.

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Hours later…

#The One who is Torn Apart - Xenogears #

Aeris was on the verge of breaking down and crying. The mysterious being had showed her most of her life: the death of her father, her imprisonment at the ShinRa HQ where she was tested on for so many years, a pathetic attempt she made to flee from Hojo, the death of Ifalna, sector 7's destruction, Tseng's murder, Cait Sith's sacrifice, Sephiroth forcing Cloud to beat her, and even her own death. Every moment was just as soundless as before, but like a tape playing in her mind, she heard it all. The cold feeling had become more intense. Both were staring to drive her mad.

Cold.

Why is it so cold?

In my world, the sun no longer shines its gold.

And so I cry.

And hope to die.

Because the world's so cold.

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Now does thou understand?

Aeris attempted to force herself to stop shaking, but she only managed it I slightly give. She made herself stand, her legs trembling beneath her. In a croaky voice she replied, "No…. I don't understand any of it. Where am I? Why am I here? Who are you and why are you showing this all to me?"

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My Child, I am only hear to aid thou. I've existed for aeons. I hold the information of thy universe. I watch the Planets, which revolve around thy sun. I am everything and nothing. Alpha and Omega. The living and the dead. The beginning and the end. Thou hath been brought here, for thy life was unfair. 

Aeris slowly shook her head. She never realized most of her life was mainly tears and survival. "What you are saying seems right," she replied, still shaken. "You speak archaically, and you know of my past…"

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I speak only the truth.

"Why though? Why all this? Why help me?"

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Doth thou still not understand? Thou hath lived a painful life, with nothing to gain. Thy death was unbeneficed.

"It was my duty," the Cetra nearly shouted, almost in hopelessness. "My duty as a Cetra of the Planet!"

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Really… Is that what thou believes as thy purpose? Thy existence? Child, doth thou understand the meaning of the word 'duty'? 

Aeris stopped. Inwardly, she gaped. Never before had she felt so confused. What did it truly mean? Was her ultimate sacrifice her real reason for living?

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Am I just a tool…? She thought.

Cold.

Damned cold.

Taking my happiness.

I feel so uncontrolled.

The darkening night.

It's freezing grip so tight.

Leaving scars so cold.

An emotion began to burn within her. An emotion she truly never felt before. One of darkness, of pain, of anguish. The thought of what the being said about the Planet caused it to grow. The cold feeling became stronger. 

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My Child, others before thou have been mistreated by the existence you refer to as the Planet, but none as much as thou. Look onward….

A scene began to take place, one Aeris had never lived through before. She recognized it instantly, however. It was the war between Midgar and Wutai. ShinRa soldiers were purging the town, burning the houses, shooting down the men who were protecting the women as they led the children to safety. A young man begged a soldier to let his girlfriend live in return for is demise. Both were killed in cold blood as the soldier shot them down. Tears began to form in Aeris's eyes as the scene faded off. The feeling of hatred returned.

Cold.

Can't stop the cold.

Ripping me apart.

The searing pain it shan't withhold.

I've no more tears to lose.

I am left so confuse.

Can't refuse this cold.

"I understand.." she whispered, her heart acting like it would explode. "This is what has been happening for all these years…"

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Yes, Child. Blood and tears have dripped for so long… Child, there is something thou should know…

Once again, a flash occurred. Aeris had braced herself for it, but when the light dimmed, she blinked at her surroundings. It was the Nibelheim Reactor. She stood at the entrance, confused again. Suddenly, she heard a noise behind, she turned, and saw three men and a girl approach. _This must be someone else's memory…_ she though. But why was she here? The girl looked like Tifa, and the man in all blue must have been a ShinRa soldier. And Zack….. Aeris's eyes dilated. Her heart skipped a beat. She knew he went on a mission before disappearing, but it was confidential, so she never knew where he went before he returned to the planet. She took her eyes off the man to examine the last one, who was dressed in black.

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Sephiroth…?

The group of four passed her, and Zack and Sephiroth went in. The soldier stopped Tifa, and forced her to stay outside. Aeris walked up the steps, and went to touch the soldier, who seemed familiar. Her hand passed through him though, and she gasped. It was like she was a ghost. Carefully, she walked around him. As she did, Aeris saw Zack and Sephiroth moving onward. She hastily followed, climbing up a chain. At the top was another door. Entering the room it enclosed, she watched as Sephiroth inspected a pod. Sephiroth and Zack talked, and Zack looked inside the pod. He jumped back in surprise. Another conversation took place. Then, the two young men's attentions turned toward a pod. She glanced at it, and saw it was steaming. The door to it exploded, and something.. No… _Some one…_ fell out, trying to breathe and move. Aeris pulled back in shock. Instantly, she realized this was Hojo's work. Sephiroth slashed at a pod, then left, Zack following. Only Aeris remained, staring at the monster that had once been human. She watched as it died a painful death, one of mako poisoning and suffocation. Her blood froze. The room faded away. 

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No… There's more, Child…

Aeris's eye squinted when fire suddenly exploded out of the nothingness. As her vision adjusted, she saw that she was in Nibelheim, which was on fire. The soldier from before ran out of the ShinRa mansion and into the town's center to speak with a shopkeeper. Both entered different houses to check for survivors. They returned empty handed, and the young soldier ran toward the Nibel Mountains. Aeris barely managed to keep up, yet soon the managed to reach the reactor. After climbing up the chain, they saw the young Tifa crying over her father.

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Wait… Aeris thought. _I remember something like this…_ She had no more time to think, however, due to the fact Tifa had just grabbed a nearby sword and ran inside, the soldier following her. She ran up the stairs with the sword, ready to strike down Sephiroth, who was at the top. However, the sword was too long, and Sephiroth grabbed the handle, and a struggle ensued. Sephiroth one, and slashed Tifa, who went flying down the stairs. Sephiroth laughed and entered the room labeled Jenova. The soldier ran and grabbed Tifa. He laid her near a pod toward the end of a row. Afterward, the soldier ran to another figure, which Aeris didn't notice. It was Zack. Cloud took Zack's Buster sword, and ran in after Sephiroth. Aeris meant to follow, but was drawn toward Zack. She walked toward him, as he rested there dying a painful death. She wanted to comfort him, but reality told her it was just a memory. She remembered Sephiroth, and ran up the stairs. Inside, Sephiroth was wincing in pain, on one knee in front of the soldier. The soldier looked at him in partial sympathy. He turned away and took his hat off. Aeris froze.

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…Cloud!?!?!?

There he stood, Cloud Strife. She was in his memory. He left the room, headed down the stairs, and went to tend to Tifa. Aeris followed, too shocked to think of anything else to do. She watched him as he gently held her. Tifa seemed unconscious. Cloud turned sharply to look at Aeris, whose eyes widened. Then she saw that he was not look at her, but at Sephiroth, who was limping down the stairs. In his hand was Jenova's grinning head. Sephiroth headed out the door onto the catwalk. Cloud's face contorted in anger, and he ran after him. Yet, as he went to strike Sephiroth down, the silver-haired monster pulled out his sword, ramming its pointed end into Cloud's chest. His eyes widened in shock and agony, whilst Sephiroth held him into the air. He laughed, and mouthed silent words. However, his look of victory turned into one of surprise. Cloud used his weight to pull himself to the ground, and grabbing the sword's blade with his hand, threw Sephiroth into the green Mako below. Aeris was amazed by his bravery, almost to the point where she didn't run to be by his side when he pulled the sword out, and fell to the ground unconscious, his chest and hands bleeping. She approached him, and knelt by him. More than ever her heart was breaking for him, too the point where she forgot this wasn't real. She closed her eyes, thinking about Cloud's hard past, and what he went through. Yet, how had he survived all this? The ground, which was slightly vibrating, answered her questioned. Trying to stop herself from crying, she looked up to see more ShinRa soldiers running in, and Professor Hojo kneeling by her side, examining the seemingly life-less form of Cloud. Some men ran passed her, and came back with Tifa and Zack, both who were knocked out. Four soldiers, picked up Cloud, and the whole crew left. 

Another flash. This time, Aeris was in the ShinRa mansion's underground lab. She looked around. No one else was here. Glancing around the room, she saw the two stasis tubes, one holding Cloud, the other Zack. Aeris figured the village took care of Tifa. A man entered the room with food, probably one of Hojo's underpaid workers. The man sat the food down, and went to open Zack's stasis tube. Upon doing so, Zack jumped out and punched the man. He then opened the other stasis tube, letting Cloud free. Cloud, however, could barely stand, and both Aeris and Zack ran to his side.

Another flash. They were on a truck, and Zack was talking to Cloud, who didn't seem to respond much. 

One more flash. It was the outskirts of Midgar. Zack and Cloud were on a cliff edge. Zack was smiling toward Cloud, who was laying on the ground. The smile disappeared when Zack turned. Aeris did as well, and the site of dozens of soldiers astounded her. Zack ran forward, as if he was protecting Cloud, and the soldiers shot him down. Another soldier pointed at Cloud, who did nothing. The soldiers shrugged then walked away. Cloud pulled himself toward Zack, looked at him, and grabbed Zack's sword, holding it high into the air. Then, everything drifted off.

Aeris was alone in the darkness. The cold feeling was so strong. Her heart felt like it would burst. She started to shake, half in shock, half in anguish. She bent over and held her head, as if to make it go away. But the feeling was so strong. It was controlling her, taking her over. She had never felt this way before, not even toward Sephiroth. She was shaking furiously, and her legs felt like jelly. Why wouldn't it stop!?!?!?

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The truth, Child, it can hurt so much. Now thou know everything.

She stopped crying. For some reason, she couldn't get the tears to move. She was so angry, a raw hatred boiling up inside of her. She had lost everything to one heavenly body she had trusted her entire life. 

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Not everything, Child. There exists one life form that thou haven't lost yet.

A dim image of a person began to form, which slowly began to brighten. It was Cloud.

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Your time is short, Child. Thy power is infinite. Thy shalt resurrect thou. Take some of my power. Thou shalt need it on thy quest.

Aeris grinned darkly to herself. She was going to get him back. 

Yet, she still felt cold.

Cold.

This cold.

I can taste my sanity.

Its story finally unfold.

I'm all alone in this world.

Unholy fate finally unfurled. 

As I walk alone.

The devil's taunting tone.

Leaving me cold.

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"I swear, Officer, the catsup made me do it…" I promise, there WILL be a plot. It gets uncovered later. _ Well, for those of you who like it, I write for your enjoyment. ^_^ I hope you like this one. The end was kinda icky, though. Sorry bout that. You can R/R if you'd like, it's only optional. Oh, I'll figure of what the time this is all happening at soon. I can tell you it goes with the game story.


	3. A New Day, A New Life

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

AN: Okay, this one is short. I suffered from writer's block when I started to write Aeris's part, so it's really icky. Frickin' writer's block…

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"And I'd give up forever to touch you, cause I know that you feel me somehow.

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now. 

And all I can taste is this moment, and all I can breathe is your life.

And sooner or later it's over. I just don't want to miss you tonight. 

And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand. 

When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am." - "Iris" Goo Goo Dolls

# Main Theme/World Theme - Final Fantasy 7 #

Mid-fall had arrived in Nibelheim. The leaves on the trees had turned autumn's beauty as they drifted back to earth. Even the hideous mutations caused by the mako reactor up north had taken some time off of killing each other to relax before winter hit. The sun kept the clouds at bay with its warm sunshine. A cool wind swept the perfectly dry land, causing the leaves to swirl around like snow in a snow globe. You couldn't even step outside your front door without a smile sketching itself on your lips. The children would go outside everyday and frolic around joyfully; the girls playing with their precious dolls and the boys gathering around a frog, laughing as they tried to catch it, and sighing as it would out jump them all. Mothers would stay inside and bake pies, resting them on their window ledges. The sweet smell of apples and the juicy scent of cherries would rise into the air, giving color to the odor of the ocean shore that slowly traveled from the waves that bore it, across the pollinated grass, and to the cozy village nearby. When the men arrived home from working in the nearby mountains, they were greeted with hugs from their daughters and sons, and kissed by their wives. They'd sit down and enjoy a wonderful meal, and after the pies they'd eat as dessert, the parents would tuck their children in for bed, and retire to their own rooms for the evening. Thus, a long day ended, and a new day began.

Cloud Strife sat on the steps of his home, remembering the days of his childhood. Nibelheim seemed to be just like it had been about 12 years ago. Everyday was the same old thing, and yet it never would get boring. Of course, this didn't apply to him. It never had. He had been considered an outcast at his age. None of the other children had accepted him, and when Tifa tried to, they'd somehow force her to look away. As he thought about it, he hadn't had many good memories. The only one that truly brought him joy was that one day he promised Tifa that he would save her when she was in need of rescue, like a white knight saving a captive princess from the evil, black demon. _Not that she needs it anymore,_ Cloud smirked to himself. If it was her versus any man, double her size with twice the normal body weight, he'd put his gil on her. She didn't seem to be afraid of anything, not even when she headed up the Nibel Mountains. She knew what perils and danger that she risked facing, but she went ahead anyways. _Damn bridge,_ he thought, the scene of when the bridge broke playing in his mind. Tifa had started across it, and Cloud followed trying to stop her from continuing. The bridge, old and held together by ropes, couldn't sustain their combined weight, and both had plunged to the foggy ground below. Though Tifa had fallen into a coma, he had miraculously suffered only scratched knees and elbows. As much as it stung, it was nothing compared to wait happened next. Some of the townsmen found them both, and one carried Tifa away in his arms, blaming the incident on Cloud and referring to him as a bastard. Surely if the other townspeople hadn't been there to calm him down, he would've murdered little Cloud on the spot. Never before had he felt so weak. But they had been right, he should've tried harder to stop her, to make her see why the other boys ran away in fear after approaching the bridge. 

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But that was the past, he told himself. It's best not to dwell on it, since bygones were bygones and still remain bygones. He had put it all behind him. Right now, he was only paying attention to the moment. It was a lovely day, ad why waste it mopping around for something in the past that had been already settled?

A closing of a door nearby had snapped him out of his thoughts. Tifa had just left her house, and she smiled as she approached him. He returned the favor. The two of them had returned to Nibelheim, since Midgar, though only partially destroyed, had been abandoned. When Meteor threatened to collide with the Planet a month ago, even though the Planet had tried to protect itself as it waited for Holy to arrive, there looked as though there was no hope for the citizens of the largest city in the world. Yet, Holy pulled through and had destroyed Meteor. A day later, the people of Midgar left the city. No one was sure why they truly left their homes. Some did because they believed Midgar was cursed. _Load of bull that was,_ Cloud thought. Others left because, with ShinRa gone, it was time to move on, start life over, and forget all of the sins they had caused. Of course, there were the people who left because now that the outer wall of the slums was gone, the monsters were able to enter the city freely, using the railways to get to the upper plate. There were too many to successfully get rid off; even AVALANCHE couldn't wipe them out. There were some people out there who were trying to find a way to possibly rebuild the city, but most people decided that if they were going to help, they needed to get rid of the slums. A lot of the upperclassmen voted against this saying they didn't want to mingle with the "filth" of the city. Naturally, it pissed everyone else off and the idea was abandoned. 

"Hey, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah?" Cloud replied, finally looking at her. She took a seat next to him.

"What'cha thinking about?"

"Everything, Tifa. From what happened last month to what has happened my entire life."

"Even… her?" Tifa added innocently. Cloud looked down, a frown beginning to write itself on his face. After a couple a seconds of silence, Tifa started to speak again.

"I'm sorry, Cloud," she said, looking away. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"It doesn't matter," he returned softly. She turned back, and was startled by his dim, yet true smile. "Yeah, I was thinking about her. But not about how she died. I was thinking about who she was. Reminiscing on what happened at the Ancient Capital isn't going to bring her back." Tifa nodded in agreement. She was both glad and proud of him when he said that. Not glad as in he could be forgetting about Aeris. No, Aeris wasn't her rival. She knew she liked Cloud. She didn't know how much, but she knew they more than just ordinary friends. Tifa loved him like a brother; that was for sure. Sometimes, she confused herself on how she felt towards him, but ever since last month, she decided that those were the kind of feelings she had for him. Both Aeris and Cloud were her best friends, and she'd never think of them any less. She missed the young Ancient, and she was sure everyone else did as well, but she was certain, no, _positive_ that all of their misery put together couldn't equal the misery Cloud felt the day she died. It broke her heart to watch him as he mopped around the entire day, heading to the bar at Icicle Inn and not conversing with a single living being. Even Tifa couldn't find it in herself to give even a dim smile that dreadful day. Yet, when Cloud had said those words a minute ago, she found it in her spirit to move on as well.

"Cloud…" she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waste as both watched the little girls across the plaza giggle as a little boy fell face first into a puddle trying to catch a frog. "Do you…" she cut herself short.

"Do I what?"

"Do you ever wonder about where she is right now?" Cloud didn't say anything for a while. He just sat there thinking about that question as Tifa picked up a leaf and began to play with it.

"I really haven't given a thought about it before. I always figured that she was in her Promise Land, whatever it is…" Cloud stopped, and started to think about what Aeris had told him about the Promise Land, how it really wasn't a particular place. It was more like a feeling, a feeling that would tell you that whatever this thing, place, or person was was your Promise Land.

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But Aeris, he thought. _You were my Promise Land…. Does it say anywhere it your Cetra heritage that you can lose you Promise Land as fast as you find it?_

Right then he realized Tifa was standing in front of him, holding her hand out.

"Come on," she uttered happily. "Let's go for a walk." Cloud nodded as she helped him up. They both sent smiles to each other as they walked onward toward the beach. 

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# You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet - Final Fantasy 7 #

Aeris awoke oh the shore of the lake within the Forgotten City. Her headaches and it hurt to moved, but she ignored the pain. Her vision was blurry, so she laid on the her back for some time. Finally, when the world came into view, she slowly stood up, disregarding the dizziness that started to soar through her body. She looked down at her body. No stab wound, and her clothes were different. Her dress looked the same, except it was longer and the color was of a magenta. She also noticed the bottom part was unbuttoned to her mid-thighs, letting the rest of it hang behind her legs. She smiled. This would help her move more easily. She also saw that her jacket was gone, and that her hair was in a ponytail instead of a braid. Her boots now had thick heels, and her rope necklace was replaced with a thin silver chain and cross. The metal around her wrist was off, which allowed her to rub the redness they had caused away. She dusted herself off and made a small, dark grin. She had never felt so strong before. Back in her weak days, she could barely harm a bandersnatch. Now, with the magic her "supplier" had given her, she felt she could take on the mighty Sephiroth himself. 

"It shouldn't be too hard to find Cloud now, should it?" she giggles, which started to turn into an oppressive laugh. She finally calmed herself down. And started to walk out of the city when a noise that reminded her of cracking shells sounded behind her. She turned sharply, and saw three teenagers behind her. One was a male with short, spiked, green hair, dressed in baggy black pants, black boots, and a dull green tee shirt. The second, also male, had dark brown hair, tied back into a weak ponytail. He wore a large, an ebony trench coat with gold fastenings, dark silver pants, and also a pair of black boots. The final figure was a girl with waist-long straight red hair. Her clothes consisted of red-trimmed black high-heeled shin boots, red legging with a black strip down the sides, an equally blank and red short-cut uniform dress with markings, and black gloves. Her suit was decked in bloodstones, which glistened in the moonlight. All of their eyes were silver, yet had an odd gold glare to them. 

"Who are you?" Aeris hissed.

"You must be Lady Aeris," The tallest one with brown hair assumed. "We have been sent by the Overlord to aid you in your quest. My name is Ranez. The girl is Lodia and the other boy is Avian." Aeris respectfully nodded to each of them as they waved in return.

"So, mademoiselle, where are we needed at?" Lodia asked.

"First off, none of this 'my lady', or 'mademoiselle' stuff," Aeris stated. "It makes me feel uncomfortable. Just call me Aeris. Second of all, I need to head to Midgar to look for something."

"Yes, Aeris," said Ranez. "Might I suggest you let us come with you, since you have yet to test your new strengths."

"If we can get there," Aeris muttered. "We have no access to transportation, and there aren't any chocobo in this area."

"Four Chocobo coming up," Avian grinned, snapping his fingers. A bright flash of light exploded out of no where, and as it dimmed, Aeris saw them. They were beautiful, with silver feathers glistening like the stars. She gaped in awe as the four birds cooed like doves. Avian seemed proud with himself as the three teens went to mount their respective animals. Aeris went up to hers and touched its beak. It blinked its gold eyes as it warked softly, as if asking her to ride it. She hopped up onto it, grabbing hold of the reign. The other three followed behind as she took off, the chocobo remarkably fast. After making sure that she wasn't about to fall off, they headed out of the city, back through the sleeping forest, around the village that protected it, and onto the freezing ocean, the moon glistening on its waves.

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Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I needed some pointers about my story.

To Ronnie: Ronnie, did you actually read it or just skim it? Or have you not been reading the Author's Note? LOL jk, but the plot starts to form on the bottom of chapter three, and I had an author note somewhere in the bottom of one of the chapters talking about the plot. But, yeah, the plots taking awhile. I needed to clear some stuff up. Thanks for telling me.

To aneurysm: I'm really glad you like it! Yes, I'm aiming for originality, as well a character depth, descriptive scenes, and the like. It's nice I scored a point in originality! ^_^ I needed that!

To Fell Blade: Once again, point for originality. Yay! ^_^ Glad I can inspire people (Though in what way I'm not sure ) . Speaking of inspiration, can I read your story when you write it? 

AN: Okay, about the genre. This story is going to have action/adventure, romance, some horror (hopefully), and angst parts as well. I just categorized them as action/adventure because, well, I can only pick two… Also, rating is most likely going to go up, most likely for cussing and gore. Gore is a possibility; I'll probably only use it for death scenes if I have any. Just to let you know, I don't have this story planned out. I'm just writing as I'm thinking.


	4. Curiosity Almost Killed The Cat

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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#The Great Northern Cave - Final Fantasy 7 #

Cait Sith hopped around the man-made wasteland. He never knew Midgar could ever look like more of a dump. Even before the attack of Sephiroth, the large city looked trashy, thanks to the slums and the reactors. The ShinRa HQs no longer towered over the mess people once called home. Only about five to ten floors were remaining, and the Junon cannon that it once held had tipped over onto sectors two, three, and four, crushing them all as well as the slums underneath. Most of the grand building had toppled, smashing into bits and covering the ground. Some of the streets were littered so badly with rubble that you'd have to climb over the mounds of rocks that were created. Some of the lanes were okay, only covered in dust and bits and scraps of other things. Even the main highway, though unfinished, still stood, as well as most of the sectors. The pillars had luckily not been damaged, which lowered the death count by hundred. Still, so many had died, you _dared_ not look under the rubble, for a friend or a family member or a co-worker's corpse may be buried well within. The people of the top part of the city had cleaned up the dead people who were openly sprawled across the metropolis, yet no one in the slums bothered. There were just too many to count for, since the collapsing of sectors two, four, and three, and the destruction of sector seven's pillar. Midgar had finally become its own hell, blood everywhere, and not a single living human about. Some of the reactors had exploded, poisoning those within the blast and spilling its Mako around itself. The affected humans had been left for dead, since the poisoning was too much for any sort of treatment. Instead of dying, they simply mutated into something unspeakable, and rummaged around. Thankfully, there were only a few of them, since most just couldn't take it and died shortly after. A new form of the Bandersnatches was rampaging around, eating the dead bodies of anything that was left. All that they would leave behind were the entrails and a very bloody scene. It was gruesome, but all of that was nearly gone. The corpses were cleared away, and now the monsters had to hunt for their food.

_Thank God,_ Cait thought to himself, sighing in relief. _I don't think I wouldn't be able to not blow chunks if I saw anything like that._

The fires were gone, the blood had dried up, and the smoke had cleared. All that was left was a barren, ruined skeleton of a city as well as its new inhabitants. Reeve had sent Cait to head to the ShinRa HQs and search for anything useful that was left behind, such as papers, documents, scientific statuses regarding Hojo, or whatever. No one else from the once powerful organization wanted to go, so Cait was sent. He had entered the city about ten minutes ago, and was trying to find a decent path to go by. The only problem was that Midgar had fully changed. Not only did everything look different, but it was also impossible to get anywhere because of the mess. Cait was seriously in a bad mood ever since he arrived. Coming back to this hellhole was not his idea of fun, and now it looked like he was lost. What was even worse was how his paranoia was starting to get the better of him. The shadows were moving around quite a bit, and the last thing he needed was an ambush by some four-legged freak of nature, or even two-legged, which he was hoping not to see this freezing night. He rode his moogle along as it hopped almost silently across the forsaken city. The little rocks of the broken buildings were bouncing their way down to the ground. Other than that, it was quiet. Not even the Bandersnatches' howls from far away were audible. Cait stopped, and, tired of feeling so afraid over nothing, honed his for any sounds. Nothing transpired at first, but a couple seconds in he heard something. Cait couldn't make it out at once, but as the sound slowly grew, he recognized it as footsteps. He blinked. Who would want to be out here in the middle of the night? Unless… Unless it was one of those mutations…. He gulped and readied himself, checking for any hiding spots. He did not want to fight them. However, there weren't an decent ones around, so he stood there waiting. What ever it was, chances are he would have to fight it. As he looked onward at the four-way intersection a couple fifty yards away, a humanely shadow appeared in the right section. Then, a masculine figure dressed in black and green ran through the open space to the other side. Confused and curious, Cait found himself following. As he turned the corner, he saw the man with two others, a girl and a boy.

"Place is clear," the guy in green said. "Where's the mistress?"

"She's up ahead," the one in the cloak replied. "Are you sure there isn't any person around?"

"Not even a corpse," the green clad said, grinning. "I'm positive."

"Well, then," the third figure in a red and black dress intervened. "Let's go catch up with her." They started to walk further down the street, and Cait recognized where they were heading as he followed. This was the way to sector eight's reactor. Still, one thing kept Cait stuck in thought. Why? Why were they heading to a reactor that had exploded in the attack? It had stopped running…. Cait's train of thought broke when a bright green light dazzled him. They had reached the reactor, and the moon in the sky was causing the Mako to glow strongly as ever. Up ahead, Cait noticed the trio stop. He ran off to the side of the road, finding a spot where he could hide and watch everything. In front of the three was another person, however, the hue of the Lifestream was so great that only the silhouette was seen. Even so, Cait could tell it was a woman.

"Everything's okay," the man in black informed her. "Avian double-checked and couldn't find anyone.

"Perfect," said the figure. Cait Sith unconsciously pulled back. The voice had hit him like a high-speed train. It sounded so familiar, like someone in his past, but he just couldn't remember it. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to remember it. 

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# Iifa Tree - Final Fantasy 9 #

Aeris smiled as she walked through the streets of Midgar. It was like returning home, well, one of her homes. Upon nearing the city, she had sent Avian to search for any people still residing in the city. Along the way, Lodia, Avian and Ranez told her about them. Lodia explained how the Planet had cruelly treated them, she left out exactly how, and how this foreign existence to the Planet had summoned them, giving them a chance for justice. They'd agreed to it, and the being had informed them that they would be helping "the final straw" a.k.a. the person the Planet was intending to get the most use out of. That person had been Aeris. 

The young Ancient stopped when she reached the eighth reactor. She was supposed to wait for the others to arrive. She grinned evilly. She was going to see him again. Of course, this meant she was going to see the others, and that might cause a small problem. She needed to expose what the Planet real was like to him, and the rest of AVALANCHE would probably convince him otherwise. Knowing their influence, he might not believe her, but she had no choice. She would do it or die trying.

Aeris kneeled near the Mako and grabbed a handful of it, the excess dripping of her palm. She laughed to herself. In her hand was someone's life force, never to enter the cycle of the Planet again. The Planet could take care of itself. Surely, if it can counter attack Meteor with Holy, then it could take out a few people? But no, it would either have someone else do its bloodshed or slowly die out, breaking into nothingness. She sighed and let the rest of the green liquid slide out of her grasp. She would make sure Cloud believes her. 

Behind her, footsteps sounded. She stood up, but didn't bother to turn around.

"Everything's okay," Ranez informed her. "Avian double-checked and couldn't find anyone.

"Perfect," Aeris replied. "Let's head inside. We need to hurry. Time is short -" Aeris stopped. Something wasn't right. 

"What is it?" asked Lodia.

"Something…" Aeris began. "Something, or someone is here…" 

"A monster, perhaps?" guessed Ranez.

"No….. I don't think…. No… Avian?"

"On it," Avian replies, turning toward the street behind them. He closed his eyes and concentrated. To the left, something sounded. Avian pulled out a green orb and held it in front of him. Focusing on it, Avian muttered something under his breath and a flash of fire bursts from thin air, heading straight for the spot he heard the sound from. 

"ARGH!!!" The person hidden yelled, jumping out of his hiding spot. It was a cat on a stuffed moogle, rolling across the floor, its tail on fire. Finally, the fire put out, it stood up, holding its slightly fried tail.

"My tail!" it hissed. "Look at what you did!! YOU SINGED MY TAIL!!!"

"Who are you?!" Lodia shouted stepping forward, two heavy gold rings in her hands. 

"I should be asking you the same thing, lady!" the cat yelled back. "The name is Cait Sith!"

"Shall I?" Lodia asks for permission, turning toward Aeris.

Aeris smirked. "Have fun," she says. "Ranez, Avian, could you get what we need?"

"Be our pleasure," Avian smiled brashly, running into the reactor, Ranez following,

"Now, cat," Lodia whispered, standing tall over Cait. "Maybe if you act good, I might make your death quick."

"Try me, freakzoid," Cait Sith says bitterly, doing a back flip onto his moogle.

"I'll make you eat those words, cat," yells Lodia. # Don't Be Afraid - Final Fantasy 8 # She rushed forward, slashing with her Twin Haloes. Cait's moogle barely managed to dodge the incoming blow, finally leaping out of the way, placing a safe distance between them. Cait took out a green orb and began to think.

"Bolt 2!!!"

"ACK!!!" cried Lodia, as a searing pain began to flow through her body. Stumbling back a few steps, she shouted "Just for that, I'll make your death slow and painful!!"

"Sure, whatever. You seem all words and no fight!!"

"Heh, heh," Lodia laughs. "Well, how about THIS!!" She pulled out a red materia and concentrated, floating to the air. 

"JUDGEMENT!!!!!" Cait Sith gasped as everyone in the scene disappeared. The ground below him began to rumble, and with a mighty explosion, Alexander appeared in front of the tiny cat. 

"OH CRA-" Yet Cait wasn't given enough time to finish his line. Alexander fired his mighty blast, and agony forced Cait to writhe. As fast as everything happened, Alexander disappeared, and Lodia was back on the battlefield, as was the mysterious stranger watching from afar. Cait was badly hurt, and it took some strength to stand. He had fallen off his moogle who had disappeared during the summoning.

"Pathetic, cat," Lodia chuckled. "Honorable, yet pathetic. Don't you know curiosity killed the ca- OW!!!!" Cait pulled back in shock as Lodia fell forward. Behind her was his moogle who had sneaked up on the mage and smacked her to the ground using the mastered double-cut, allowing him to slash four times.

"Take that, stuck up crap mage!!!" shouted Cait. Lodia growled and spun around, swinging her Twin Haloes at moogle, hitting him backward. She stood up and turned to Cait once again.

"Play time's over, fur ball." Lodia held her Haloes in front of her, which perfectly floated perpendicular to the ground, and looked to the sky. A gust of wind began to blow, causing her hair to run wild. Her Haloes started to spin in all directions, and Cait was paralyzed to the ground. She slowly opened her eyes, and everything seemed to stop.

"TERRA CRASH!!!!" In a straight line, the ground began to explode toward Cait, leaving earth shrapnel in their wake. Cait couldn't move; could only close his eyes as the attack headed for him. Finally, the ground beneath him detonated, and a shearing pain enveloped him. It was long and lasting, and his moogle had to push him out of the way in an attempt to stop it all. Once the limit break stopped, the ground imploded on itself, returning to normal. The moogle grabbed Sith and ran off. Lodia started to follow.

"Let him go," Aeris ordered. "No need to get blood on our hands over nothing. Besides, we got most of what we needed."Ranez and Avian were behind her, holding some materia. "It's not here, but I have an idea of where it might be. Even so, the trip was worth it. Let's head to Gongaga." Snapping her fingers, Yunie, her silver chocobo, ran over one of the building , followed by the other three. She mounted hers, as did the others, and the rode off.

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# Underneath the Rotting Pizza - Final Fantasy 7 #

Cait Sith gave a large sigh of relief.

"Thanks, ol' buddy. I owe ya one…" He told his moogle, who was healing him with a cure materia. Thankfully, the girl had command Lodia not to follow him. If she had, he would surely be dead.

_Who are these people?_ He thought. _Lodia was incredible strong, like Sephiroth. And that girl… She was so familiar… _Cait shook his head and hopped up onto his moogle. He needed to find Cloud, since this new group wasn't your ordinary materia collectors. 

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AN: Well, another chapter down. Busy week, so this one took longer.

By the way, I'm having a vote: Do you really like the title? I came up with it in about five seconds, so I want your honest opinion.

To Memoriam: Yeah, like you said, the plot is messy. Sorry, but I'm writing as I go. Hopefully it will become clearer, but I won't say anymore because I don't want to give it away ^_~ . Also, thanks for telling me about the Old English problem. I've never written like this before. Is it right now?

To Ronnie: Glad you're still liking it. ^_^ Yeah, Aeris has a new personality. Try to figure it out, but if you still don't understand it, I guess I could tell you. By the way, thanks for liking my descriptions! ^_^

To Bibie: Wow, English isn't your native language? What do you speak? I speak French, but it's not my language. ^_^ Not that you'll care unless your French, since I don't write my fanfics in French. Here, go to www.dictionary.com and use the thesaurus. It helps. Thanks for liking my story. Oh, and the romance is like the game: It's five-eighths Cloris and three-eighths Cloti. I want to make it fair to everyone. ^_^


	5. The Haunters of the Haunted Mansion

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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"It's been awhile

Since I could hold my head up high,

And it's been a while

Since I first saw you,

And it's been awhile 

Since I could stand on my own two feet again,

And it's been a while 

Since I could call you," - "It's Been A while" Staind

# The Great Northern Cave - Final Fantasy 7 #

* The Day After *

Tifa and Cloud sat alongside a nearby beach that helped barricade the land of Nibelheim. The sun was setting, and the sky seemed to be filled with fire. There was a gentle breezed that caused the grass to sway slightly, letting its aroma lift into the air. Hand in hand, Tifa and Cloud had talked during the beginning of the walk, but slowly afterward, the conversation drifted into a sound silence. Both were off in their own world; Tifa was thinking about the future, and Cloud, his past. It was hard to stay in focus with the dreamy scenery around them. Even the monsters were lost in the peace, laying around sleeping or chasing each other about. One of the frolicking Bandersnatches even went over to play with Tifa. Still, as the day began to die, and night pushed the sun away from Nibelheim skies, the Bandersnatches had run off to find food for their young'uns. Tifa knew they should be enjoying this wonderful weather, for come winter, the rains would force them inside, turning Nibelheim into a dark and dreary town. Even so, they stayed silent. Tifa wondered what Cloud was thinking off, since his thoughts always seemed to interest her. However, both of their trains of thought were broken at the sight of an aircraft heading toward them. Tifa squinted t o see who the vehicle belonged to, but the sight of the bikini-clad woman gave it all away.

"Cid," Cloud muttered.

With a tremendous gust of wind, the Highwind landed, causing the long grass to shake violently. As it came to a full stop, a black cat on a moogle jumped off the deck and started speedily hopping toward them. From the way Cait Sith's moogle ran, Tifa suddenly knew there was something wrong. Simultaneously, she and Cloud stood up, sprinting to meet up with the cat. 

"Cloud!" Cait gasped. "Tifa!"

"What's wrong, Cait?" asked Cloud, a look of worry framed on all three of their faces.

"We've got trouble! I'll explain later! Pack up whatever you need and meet me back on the Highwind!" Tifa looked at Cloud, who glanced back, nodded and took off toward his house, Tifa tailing behind him. Cait watched as the two left, thinking to himself, _We're gonna need all the help we can get…_

Inside his house, Cloud thought of what could be the problem. It was then as he packed away his sword into its sheath that a terrorizing thought occurred to him. _It couldn't be….. Him…. Could it…?_ No… He told himself. Of course not. Pocketing the last of his materia, and scrounging up any potions he could find, he headed out the door, noticing that Tifa was already done and waiting for him. As he headed up toward her, she said, "Maybe we should get Vincent. Cait Sith seemed pretty distressed; I've never seen him like this before…"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Cloud replied, smiling. "We better hurry though." The smile disappeared. "Cait Sith said this is pretty urgent." With that, the two sprinted up toward the ShinRa Mansion, awarded with stares of some of the passing townsmen since no one dared to enter the "haunted" building. It was a rumor Tifa spreaded to get people to leave Vincent alone, since now that the incident from about 7 years ago was settles into history, people it would be alright to search the mansion. Tifa, Cloud, and Vincent, before he went to sleep again, had decided that the house shouldn't be messed with, as it was the symbol of an old era, one that shouldn't reoccur. As the two friends entered the ShinRa Mansion, memories came back to them both.

# ShinRa Mansion Theme - Final Fantasy 7 #

The ground floor was just the same as it ever had been: dusty, rickety, smelling of mold… Along the way to the secret stairway, they met a couple Dorky Faces, who flew around laughing in an annoying way until Cloud got pissed and sliced them in half. He earned a reprimanding look from Tifa, who in return, got an innocent grin back. As they headed down the circular stairway, a disgusting scent nearly over powered them.

"Argh," Tifa moaned in disgust. "What _is_ that?"

"It smells like something's… rotting.." Cloud said, grimacing. Carefully and slowly, they headed down the steps. By the time they reached the bottom, the only light available was the soft glow of the lamps on the walls. The ground was slightly mushy, probably from all of the mold growing all over. When they neared the door to the secret room Vincent found peace in, Cloud pulled out the key and opened the door, dust flying all over. Coughing as they entered, Cloud went and knocked on the coffin's lid. Almost at once, it flew off, and the being inside sat up.

"Who dare disturbs me? Oh, is that you Cloud?" 

"Yeah, Vincent, and Tifa, too," responded Cloud.

"Mornin', Vincent," Tifa giggled.

"Good morning, if that's what it is," he replied, yawning. "Now, what can I help you with?" At this, Cloud turned serious.

"Cait Sith came," Cloud said. "He told us there's a problem, and it's pretty bad. By the sound of it, he needs all the help he can get…"

"So you want me to come along," the ex-Turk finished. "Yes, I shall. I'm already equipped with everything I need, so shall we set off?" With this, he stood up.

"Yeah, we should hurry," Tifa added.

Cloud nodded. "Let's go." 

# Trail of Blood - Final Fantasy 7 #

As they headed out the doorway, that same smell washed over them again, only stronger than before.

"Ugh, Vincent, _what the hell is that_!?" Tifa cried. "It smells worse than before!!"

"I don't know, I've never noticed anything like it since I went back to sleep…."

"Did something die and rot in here?" Cloud questioned.

"Uggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……"

Something sounded, a low, pitiful moan. The trio stopped, frozen partly in fear of what that sound was. With it, a slow slushy wet sound rose, like something moving around taken long steps, and then the sound of something being chewed on. 

"I…..I think it came from the stairs……" Cloud muttered, partly taken in shock. Slowly, Vincent, Cloud and Tifa turned, and what they saw caused them to tense up even more. In front of the stairs, what looked like two halves of two different zombies stapled together was crouched another one of its kind, obviously dead. It was slowly pulling it up toward its mouth, taken a bite out of it before putting it back down again. It swallowed, stopped, and looked toward them, standing up straight. It moaned again as it blocked the entire path to the stairs.

"It's a Ying-Yang," Vincent whispered. "But it looks like its evolved….."

"In other words," Tifa inferred. "No one came down here, so they started to rot and die, resorting to eat its own kind."

"Well, if you put it that way…."

"Um, people, can we concentrate?" Cloud interrupted, slightly frantic, since the monster had started toward them, slowly dragging its feet. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to cause the to devolve…" With that, he unsheathed his sword.

"Er.. Right," Tifa muttered, adjusting her gloves slightly, while Vincent pulled out his Death Penalty. With a grunt, Cloud jumped forward, slicing at the monster, and Tifa, afraid to get close to it, casted Bolt3. Yet, as Cloud backed away form it, the monster was barely hurt, aside from the fact its arm had fallen off. Vincent ran forward, and began to shoot at it, blowing away the top part of its head. It dropped to the floor, twitching at first, but then coming to a halt. It was dead.

"Um… Ew…" Tifa said, brushing some of its gore off her arm.

"Well, that was - " But Cloud never finished his sentence, interrupted by more groans behind him. Out of the door that lead to the library/science room, three more Ying-Yangs came out, more revolting and demented than the first. The second was barely together, it's right arm broken and limp, it's head swinging in all directions. The third was almost free of skin, and most of it was just bone and tissue. One of its halves was missing as well.. As the fourth one stumbled toward them, Tifa saw that one of its eyes had been gorged out, leaving a black liquid to trail down its cheek. It's opposite leg was broken, which caused it to limp toward them. It made her want to hurl. 

"There's too many," Cloud informed. "And they're way to strong! We gotta get out of here!" But as they turned to head up the stairs, they say the corpse which the first Ying-Yang was eating slowly get up, skin and miscellaneous gore hanging off its body. With one arm out, it walked toward them, groaning. They were surrounded.

Tifa stood there aghast. It had been dead just a minute ago, and now it was up and wandering about. But then she wondered, _why didn't the first one get up? _However, she was pulled from her train of thought when a slimy hand touched her shoulder. She turned and gasped. The fourth Ying-Yang had reached her. It grabbed her shoulder and tried to pull her toward it. Tifa attempted to fight it, knowing it would take too long to cast a spell, but as she punched and kicked it, the monster wouldn't let go. It tried to pull her closer so it could bite her, yet punching it kept it from doing so. However, she was beginning to tire, and the other two were catching up…

"FIRE3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Suddenly a blast of flames appeared, torching the monster. It howled, pulling away from her, and Tifa stumbled backward, Cloud catching her in his arms. He pulled her back toward where Vincent was, who was keeping the one behind them from closing in. Cloud grabbed Tifa's hand and pulled her toward the stairs.

"Come on, Vincent!" He shouted. Vincent nodded and rushed ahead, using his shoulder to slam the walking corpse away, giving them time to pass. They ran up the stairs, into the room where they were concealed, and slammed the door behind them. Tifa collapsed into a nearby chair, tired from the battle. Cloud attempted to catch his breath, while Vincent stared at the door.

"Cloud…" Tifa managed. "If you hadn't done cast that when you did….."

"Don't worry about it," he said, smiling. "You've said me loads of times before, and those things weren't exactly pushovers."

"Either way… Thanks…." Tifa smiled back. The last thing she needed was to be eaten to death. It was probably a painful way to die. The team decided to check their materia before they left. Vincent had a Water, Thunder, Wind, Time, and Hades, as well as two All materia. Cloud had Fire, Full Cure, Barrier, Bahamut Zero, Ice, Contain, an All, and the Knights of the Round. Tifa carried her Enemy Skill, Shiva, Itfrit, Alexander, Thunder, Restore, Ice, Earth, an All, and a Luck Plus. 

"Well, should we head back to the Highwind?" Tifa asked. As soon as she had said that, a scratching noise was heard from the door they just came through. Shortly after, something moaned from the same spot.

"We'd better go…" Vincent said.

"Yeah, we need to hurry," added Cloud. He ran out the door to the stairway, but stopped before he got to the first step, mouth open, gaping at something they could see.

"Cloud," Tifa called. "What is it?" For her answer, he pointed, and Tifa and Vincent ran out to where he stood, and stopped in shock as well. There must have been at least a hundred Dorky Faces, laughing maniacally, and Tifa knew why.

"Cloud, did you by chance happen to kill any of them?" Vincent asked calmly.

"Er……. Maybe……" He replied in a naïve way.

"Ah, well it seems that since no one has entered for the past 2 years, and since Dorky Faces enjoy playing jokes on travelers, they have gotten bored. I would conclude that since you killed off two of their members who were just having fun, they are pretty upset…." With that, Vincent backed away from Cloud, and Tifa, getting the message, did so as well. Right on cue, the Dorky Faces shot towards the poor blonde in a single file line, right when they almost hit him, he took off in a sprint down the stairs and under the balcony, out of sight. The Dorky Faces followed, and when the last one was gone, Vincent grabbed Tifa by her wrist and ran out the door. 

"What are you doing?" Tifa cried. "We can't leave him in there!!!"

# Lurking in the Darkness - Final Fantasy 7 #

"Dorky Faces aren't too powerful," Vincent informed. "Even in large numbers, they won't be able to take Cloud down. The most the could truly do to him is suck a bit of his energy down and cast some random statuses on him. His armor should protect. Besides, if he does have problems, the Dorky Faces will eventually leave him alone, and we can go inside and help him. If we go in and fight them now, and if we get in trouble, no one can help us. Cait Sith will probably think you two are busy packing." Tifa paused, then sighed. Vincent was right; she didn't need to watch over him like a babysitter. They sat on the ground and waited. Even though Vincent felt pretty sure of himself, Tifa began to worry, not to mention Cloud's horrified shriek gave her a heart attack. She tried to get to her feet, but her caped friend snatched her wrist and shook his head defiance. Tifa sighed and returned to her sitting position. A few minutes, the door to the haunted mansion burst open, and two Dorky Faces emerged, something wiggling in their grasp. The rest of the Dorky Faces were behind the duo, howling in laughter. The two Dorky Faces threw the little animal they had at Tifa's feet. Still cracking up hysterically, the monsters slammed the door shut behind them as they reentered the house. Tifa crouched down and Vincent walked to her side. Lying right there was a little frog clothed in a dress and a wig, nearly drenched in make up. The frog shook hopped up and shook its head, then groaned and pulled off the wig while ripping off the dress. Using its forearm, it wiped the makeup clean off, looked up and said, "Does anyone have a Maiden's Kiss?"

* * *

# Infiltrating ShinRa Tower - Final Fantasy 7 #

Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind, Vincent Valentine, Red XIII, Yuffie Kisaragi, Cait, Cloud, and Tifa stood around the long table in the conference room of the Highwind. After the fiasco that happened in the ShinRa mansion (and after Vincent and Tifa finally found Cloud a Maiden's Kiss to fix him back to normal), they returned to the airship where Cait Sith was waiting. He seemed anxious to tell them all about what happened, since the only other person who knew was Cid.

"So, Cait, care to explain just what the hell is going on?" Cloud asked. Cait Sith took a big breath, and began. He told them about how he met up with the four mysterious people at Midgar, and how they seemed to be looking for something, but didn't find it. He then explained how incredibly powerful the one girl he fought was. Cait made sure to get every bit of detail into his story, and each member of Avalanche listening intently.

"And so after Mog and I escaped from Midgar, we headed to Junon, took the transport ship over, and stopped at Cosmo Canyon. We met Red and Yuffie (who was studying materia types), and telephoned Cid to pick us up."

"Yeah, and so we decided to check out who these $#$#%$^& jokers are," Cid added, blowing a puff of smoke out from his cigarette. "From the sound of what Cait told me, this is pretty ^%^%*&(* serious. We didn't have any ideas of where to go from here, so we dropped by to see if you would help." Cloud nodded, looking at the table in thought. 

"Just how strong were these people," questioned Red XIII.

"Very," Cait said. "They know limit breaks." At this, Yuffie and Tifa gasped.

"This is pretty bad then," Vincent whispered in his mournful tone. "Limit Breaks have a habit of being fatal when used, unless they're defensive. Not many people can use or control them, but from what you said, this girl seems pretty experienced.

"So, now we're messin' with the big dogs, I guess," Barret moaned. 

"Okay, so we know what they are," Yuffie said, a little annoyed. "Now can we focus on where they went?"

"Yuffie's right. We won't get anywhere knowing what they can do," Tifa agreed.

"But, they never said where they were planning on going," Vincent reminded them. "So, basically, we're back at square one."

A moment of silence passed, and then Cloud spoke up.

"Hold on a second… They were in the reactor, obviously looking for something," he began. "But from what Cait told us, the one person he couldn't see said that they didn't find what they needed. That's what Cait heard before he was out of their earshot. So, what's the one thing Mako is usually used for?"

"An energy source, like how those damn ShinRa freaks used it."

"Mako poisoning I suppose, but I don't see why that would be helpful… Grandpa told me back when I was a cub that Mako poisoning isn't a war method."

"Experiments, the kind that damned Hojo did on Lucrecia and Sephiroth…."

"%@%^@*& Money source, I %^^*%@&% guess…."

"Creating life? Connections with the Planet? Just like Aeris….."

"Psh, don't look at me, I'm just a cat in a cape."

"MATERIA!!!!!"

"Well," Cloud mumbled, a sweat drop forming on his forehead. "Yes, all of those things….. But I don't think it has to do with an energy or a money source, since you can't use it by small numbers and all Lifestream is the same….. From Cait's description, they don't look like scientists, and once again, Life stream is all the same…… I don't it has to do with the Planet, Tifa, no offence…. Red's right about the Mako poisoning……… So, it's gotta be that they're looking for a certain Materia. The only problem is, where are they going?" He turned toward Yuffie. "Any ideas?"

"Well, let's see….. They gotta be heading for a reactor, but most of the reactors at Midgar are drained…. Checked, heh, heh…. Ahem, you've got Nibelheim, but that's the place for Mako monsters instead of Materia, since the reactor is drying up from when Cloud told us about his past back in Kalm… Um….. There's always the underwater reactor, but I have no idea if that serves for Materia or just energy….. You also have Gongaga with their broken reactor, and Corral with theirs…."

"Wait, brat, go back one dere…." Barret commanded. Yuffie scowled and being called the name, but she did as she was told.

"I said Gongaga…"

"That's right!" Tifa exclaimed. "We found quite of bit of Materia there, as well as a summon, and summons are exceptionally rare…. That's probably the place!"

"If that's the case…" Cid hissed. "We gotta %$%$*%^*% hurry before we lose them. Let's head straight to Gongaga!"

"Right!"

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Gomen for this one coming out so late. Been really busy with guard and school, and this is a pretty long chapter. But then again, none of you people but Ronnie bugged me, so shame on you!! ^_^ Heh, thanks Ronnie, seriously, for getting me off my lazy ass and working on this one. I hoped I filled out a few plot holes, and I know the plot's kinda messy, but I promise that some of it will come out next chapter. I've got a lot planned out now, so I shouldn't have writer's block that much.

Also, I've found out that Gaming Force isn't working, so go to www.ffonline.com to get the music. However, it only has the final fantasy music. Just to let you know.

So, what did everyone think of this chapter. I'm sorry, I know that Dorky Face scene was stupid, I couldn't resist though. The story was too serious. Also, you saw I added some gore. Heh, I'm trying to touch a little bit of everything in this story. Also, if you read and review, please tell me what you think of the romance. Talk about what you want to see for romance, how you think I'm treating Tifa (I'm trying to treat her nice), etc, etc. Thanks!


	6. A Chance for Redemption

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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# Who Am I - Final Fantasy 7 #

He opened his bleary eyes. Never before had he felt so exhausted, even that time in his past when he was up wide and awake studying about Jenova and the Ancients ….. No… Cetra. The thought of it caused him to cringe inwardly. Everything he had done in his life, all of the people he killed, all of the threats and attempts to destroy the world he made where finally setting in. It made his heart feel as if it would explode and collapse all at once. Attempting to get his mind off of the painful feeling, he opened his eyes a little wider as to clear his vision, and saw he was floating in a world of magnificent green, the mixtures of jade, emerald, white, and lime-like colors swirling around his tired body. Only one thing came to mind that this extraordinary sight.

_Lifestream…_ He thought in an unnaturally neutral tone.

Yes… It is Lifestream…

_Planet?_

Once again, you are correct, Sephiroth. This is the Planet who is speaking to you. You are deceased, and are currently in a somewhat large path of what you refer to as Mako running under the Nibel Mountains. Do you remember?

_Yes, Planet. I remember very well how I went insane over my existence, how I destroyed the village of Nibelheim and slew the executives of ShinRa, how I used my power to control Cloud against his will, how I murdered the last Cetra, Aeris,_ _and how I summoned Meteor to returned the so called Cetra heritage back to the world. I've done nothing right in my life, yet here I am, and as I see it, this is not where I belong. This is not the Hell I should have been damned too._

Yes, _should have been_. Your fate has been undecided, since I am giving you a chance to redeem yourself, Sephiroth.

Sephiroth's eyes grew in shock. _Why do you give me such a chance? I don't deserve it…_

It is only fair, my child. I would believe you would need it most, as now Jenova no longer controls you.

_Jenova…_ He hissed. _Because of that damned deceased Ancient…_

No, Sephiroth. I'm afraid you have been mistaken once again. Jenova is not a Cetra, let alone a being of this planet. It is of a different existence, however, I shall tell you the story later. I am certain you are wondering what this new chance is, am I right?

If Sephiroth had the energy to, he would've nodded like a little child that had just been offered his favorite treat. For all of the sins he had committed, he though, at least he would be able to repay some of them.

I can only tell you so much for the moment, child. You shall be helping the man who had destroyed you, Cloud Strife.

Sephiroth froze for a second, the thought going though his head. An unknown emotion went through his body. Was it dread, regret, sorrow? He knew that the day he took Aeris's life, Cloud would always hate him. The silver-haired man straightened himself, as if standing on an invisible ground, and looked up, nodding. More than ever, he wanted to help Cloud. He remembered that back then about seven years ago, Cloud was always looking up to him, even though he never made SOLDIER. Back then, the general knew he was always admired as a hero, but not as a role model. Now, he had destroyed most of the young blonde's life, and somehow, Strife still recovered and lived on. That made him much stronger than an hero or role model alive.

Yes… Now, listen closely, Sephiroth. When you awake, you won't be anywhere near Cloud and his friends. However, you just need to stay where you will be at, for you and Cloud will cross paths once again. Explain to him only what you think is necessary. After that, you absolutely must watch over him. He is vital to our continued existence. If he dies, all hope is lost. Is this all clear?

Sephiroth nodded slowly.

Good. Best of luck to you, Sephiroth. This will not be an easy quest, and I am sure you will need it.

* * *

# Underneath the Rotting Pizza - Final Fantasy 7 #

As the green light faded to black, Sephiroth waited in the darkness until he felt a misty coldness etch itself on his skin. He shivered, and opened his eyes. At first, the world was swirled together, but slowly his gaze focused. The ex-SOLDIER stood up shakily, shaking his head back and forth as if to clear his mind. He was in Jenova's room at the Nibelheim Reactor. The thought caused him to shudder violently.

_It all began here…._ He though, a frown forming on his lips. At the time, he didn't know of Jenova and her powers. When she first had entered his mind, Sephiroth couldn't tell her apart from his own. No one had fully known about Jenova's strengths, not even that pain-in-the-ass Hojo. It was after his reign of insanity had begun that the freaky scientist had figured out that Jenova, though not being able to control one's will, could heavily influence a person.

Sephiroth exited Jenova's chamber, and sat on the steps outside. Placing the sword perpendicular to the ground, he rested both gloved hands on the hilt, closing his eyes to calm himself. More than ever, he wanted to leave this hellhole. It brought back too many hurtful memories. But as his anxiety grew, the Planet's words repeated themselves in his mind.

_Maybe it's what I deserve…_ He thought. After a short pause, he barked out a sarcastic laugh, dripping with hate. 

"No, of course I don't deserve this.." He hissed to no one. "I deserves something worse. Something far worse. More painful than torture, more terrifying than death." At the end of his last sentence, he stopped, becoming thoughtful. "But what _is_ worse than death….?"

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AN: Joy, got this chapter done. ^_^ Been busy still. Thanks Ronnie for reviewing! 

BTW, no Sephiroth isn't going to try to find out what is worst than death so that he can call it upon himself. It was just random coughforeshadowingcough. ^^' Anyways, I know this chapter is short. But be proud of me! I got the whole story planned out, and for you CloTi fans, Tifa's gonna et her big part, but that's not coming up anytime soon. Don't worry, she gets little parts during the time period before that. ^_^ I want to keep it fair. But no more. I don't want to spoil it!


	7. Shadows Revealed

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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#Song of Memories - Final Fantasy 9 #

The waves of Costa Del Sol lightly brushed against the warm sand. The beach was barren, as it was an early Sunday morning. A breeze caused the grassy plains nearby to wave like liquid. Avian was at the bar talking to some of the waitresses there, and Lodia and Ranez were having breakfast. The same breeze caught Aeris's unbraided hair and caused it flow wildly, coming to a rest when it died. The skies were a deep blue, but the reflection of the sun on the water made it shine gold. As it washed over the Cetra's shins, she took a big breath, the fresh crisp of the air clearing her body. It was a beautifully morning, just the kind she needed to get the recent thoughts out of her head. Lately, she had begun to question herself and her placement. Was she following the right path? She knew that what the disembodied voice told her was true, but was that the planet's fault? She shook her head and held her wrist palm up. Her gaze took in the tattoo placed there, an orb with a dragon wing on the left and an angel wing on the right. She wasn't sure what it meant. In fact, she wasn't sure what anything meant anymore. The young women could scarcely recall being a Cetra, protecting the planet she supposedly once loved. But everything before and after that was a blur. Sure she remembered both of her parents dying, the day she found out Zack was killed on a mission, and the experiments she suffered through while in Hojo's clutches, and she could recite her conversation with the god word for word, but that was about it. 

__

I mean, I know I love Cloud, and that I spent a true moment of happiness with him…. But I can't remember what it even was about…… I can't remember anything at all…

She frowned at this. It was like someone was taking every happy moment of her life and crushing it, letting the pieces fly with the wind. But what if she never had a true moment of happiness?

__

Why is it like some one is pulling my memories away from me…? 

Aeris closed her eyes remorsefully. Maybe by finding Cloud, her answers would be solved.

__

Yes, a seducing voice said in her head, _find him, and all you desire will be yours…As well as the answers…_

She nodded, reluctantly at first. Then, a smile crept onto her face. It was the only way.

_No, child, you are being fooled. Don't give in._

Hearing this new soft and caring voice, Aeris scowled. It was the Planet. Lately, it would talk to her. It had been trying to get her to return to its side constantly ever since she woke up after her death, but now, it would only speak to her when Aeris questioned her placement in life. She would simply ignore it, but hearing its sickly comforting voice nauseated her, spiking an anger that she could barely control.

# Queen of the Abyss - Final Fantasy 9 #

Aeris shook all thoughts from her head, just in time to hear splashes behind, and a thundering in the distance.

"Aeris," Ranez called, the other two standing behind him. "Lodia informed me that AVALANCHE are on their way here. She could sense them." Aeris slowly nodded, looking at the sky. Across the ocean, there was a dot heading toward them, growing by the moment. However, it wasn't fully heading toward the beach resort. Instead, it was turning more south.

"They're heading for Gongaga," the Cetra informed them. "They seem to know of our plans, or so they think." She then barked a laugh. "Well, as much fun as it is to have them have a step ahead of us, we don't want them to take a full running leap." She turned toward Lodia. "Lodia, since you are more of the psychic type, would you…?"

The lady in red smiled and bowed. "It would be an honor." She closed her eyes, and her mind left her body, floating across the psychic plane toward the Highwind. Concentrating on it, she formed an electric charge to run though the flying machine, just strong enough to cause one of the minor computers to short circuit. Lodia slowly opened her eyes.

"It is done."

Aeris slowly gave a nod, gazing at the Highwind. "Let us go. We'll see them again soon." With that, she turned away from the ocean and walked toward the plains to mount her chocobo as the others followed.

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# Main Theme - Final Fantasy 7 #

Meanwhile, on the Highwind, Cloud leaned against the railing of the deck, the wind sending his spikes amuck. It was too stuffy in the airship to stay inside, and besides, it was a beautiful morning. He took a big breath of the sea air, and almost gagged from the strong kelp scent. 

"Heh, heh, not much of a smart idea, eh, Cloud?" a meek and worn voice said, trying to keep a sneering tip to her voice. Cloud turned his head to see Yuffie trying to keep herself up by holding onto the rail. The man shook his head and tossed her a tranquilizer.

"Much appreciated," she thanked, taking the pill. A few moments passed, and she straightened herself. "So, what'cha thinking about, ole fearless leader?"

Cloud smirked at the name. "Just because I'm older than you doesn't make me old. Unlike some people around here, I tend to hold on to my brain cells as I age."

Yuffie dodged the remark, saying, "Oh, you mean Cid? Yeah I thought he was a lot dumber since we last saw him." Cloud groaned, rolling his eyes and muttering about the mental health of this generation. Yuffie, seeing an opening, added, "Or it could be the fact that he's blonde." She didn't have much time to applaud herself however, as Cloud's hand started grasping the hilt of his sword. Yuffie backed up, "Woah there, take it easy! Just kidding around, ya know?" Cloud removed his hand, returning his gaze toward the open sea, still mumbling curses under his breath.

"Back to my first question, what'cha thinking about?"

"Stuff."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Well, what kinda stuff?"

"The kind of stuff I think about."

"This isn't getting us anywhere."

"Was it ever in the first place?"

"Argh, you're hopeless. How can Tifa even put up with you?" She faked a grimace, to the point her skin almost looked like it was changing colors.

"Because, she's not simple mind - Um, Yuffie? Why are you turning green?"

She gave him a funny look, raising an eyebrow. "Green? I'm not turning - " But before she finished, she started to gag, and turned and barfed. Cloud turned away almost simultaneously, handing her his bag of tranquilizers. 

"Take 'em. You'll need 'em," he offered. Yuffie gave a slight thanks, then ran down the stairs that lead to her usual spot in the Highwind. Cloud stared at the door which she had gone through, then shook his head and returned to ocean, thinking again. Cait Sith had mentioned that one of the four "terrorists" seemed familiar. It spiked a wonder in him, but then he thought it could have been anyone, being as Reeve WAS in ShinRa…

The team was just heading toward Gongaga, as they had gone to Kalm to pick up the Maiden's Kiss for Cloud (:It's the cheapest you can get it for, Cloud!" Yuffie had explained. "Save the rest of your money [for materia]!") Cloud watched the West continent slowly crawling toward them.

He turned toward Vincent who had been sitting against the wall of the ship a few meters off.

"What do you think of all of this? You've been pretty silent…"

Vincent shrugged. For a moment he didn't reply, so Cloud abandoned the conversation, then Vincent said, "To be honest, I do not know. However, whatever this is about, it's pretty serious. What confuses me, to be frank, is who could be behind this… Four suspicious people, arriving at a destroyed reactor, searching for what seems to be materia, but not just any type; a certain materia. Right now, knowing who they are isn't as important as what are they searching for and why…"

"Leave it to you to get to the main point of the problem."

"Only being logical.."

"It's a good disease, my friend," Cloud smiled. Vincent nodded solemnly, causing Cloud to give up with a sigh. Moments of silence passed. Both were deep in thought, and both were snapped out of it when the Highwind gave a quick shudder. Cloud had to brace himself to keep from falling over the edge. Vincent shook his head and stood up.

"What was that?" Vincent questioned calmly.

"No idea," responded Cloud. "Let's go find Cid." The two left, running down the stairs, past a sickened Yuffie, and into the control room. Everyone else was there, including Cid who was shouting at the men. After a while, he turned toward everyone.

"God $#^@^% hell, one of the new out put control modules blew. #$^^%&^ retarded workers must have screwed up. Psh, guess that's what I ^#@%^ get for expecting 'free shipping and set up'." The crew just shrugged and continued working.

"It's not serious…… Is it?" Cait gulped nervously.

"Hell no. If it was, we'd be about a million different pieces floating up to space," Cid laughed merrily, causing Cait's eyes to widen at the thought. "Naw, we'll just have to land and start walking. Can't risk any more &^#* parts to go, or we could be in some serious @^&*&%."

"Costa Del Sol," Red whispered, before taking the time to slowly stand up. "Costa Del Sol. That's close by."

"Yeah," Barret agreed. "We can go through da Corel Mountains and through Corel!"

"And take continue until we make it to Gongaga," Cait added.

"Then it's decided," Cloud nodded. "Cid, can you land us by Costa Del Sol?"

"You heard the leader!" Cid yelled toward the crew. "Now, come on you jokers! This is easy %&^!"

"Yes, sir!" Slowly, but still wobbly, the airship landed, making a thump as it hit the ground.

# Main Theme - Final Fantasy 7 #

As AVALANCHE got of the Highwind, and the crew stayed on to order the new part needed, Cloud talked to the group.

"Okay," he started. "Since we're on the border of Costa Del Sol, we'll go ahead and get some supplies for the trip, rest up for awhile, then follow the path through the Corel Mountains. We'll decide what to do after that. Tifa, Barret and Vincent, I want you to come with me. Cid, I need you to lead the others. Let's get our stuff, then go through the mountains in two groups, and we'll meet in Corel. All clear?" Everyone nodded, while Cid whined, "Why does Yuffie have to be in my group?" and Yuffie kicked him in the shin.

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As Cid's team had most of the supplies on their side (due to the fact Cid owned the airship), they left before Cloud and the rest. About a half-hour later, Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, and Barret left for the path to Corel. The monsters weren't much a problem. Those annoying egg monsters where easy to take care of thanks to a fire2/all pairing, and the little dragon spawn could be downed with a bullet or two. Even as they started the path, the tall bird-like creatures grazed, and the toadstools slept. Night was coming along faster, and the larger moon above them glowed strongly.

"Why are they like this?" Tifa wondered aloud. "Even though we've become stronger since the last time we fought them, it shouldn't be like this…"

"Yeah, I mean, where's all da fun at, man?" Barret joked.

"I don't see what the problem is," commented Vincent. "Better peaceful than violent."

"I know what you mean," said Cloud. "But it's just that: they're being TOO passive. I mean, there's one over there with a nest, and the mother bird is looking right at us, and doesn't even care. That's not right."

"Whatever," Barret scolded. "Just wait 'til you see what's at the top…"

"What do you mean, Barret?" Tifa asked. 

"Jus' wait fer it…." As the rounded the crest of the hill, Tifa gasped at the sight. Below, where the reactor used to be, was a brand new train station, with two sleek new trains. The tracks had been redone, looking much better than they had before. 

"Wow, Barret, it's amazing!" Cloud exclaimed (AN for those of you who read the song on an earlier chapter, remember the train?). Tifa nodded in absolute agreement, and Barret puffed his chest out proudly. They kept going down the stairs toward the empty platform (AN think o the platform that goes to Gold Saucer. Almost same thing). As they reached the bottom, Barret added, "Jus wait 'til you see Corel. Looks like it did coupla years ago-"

"That's as far as you need to be going," a cold, masculine voice interrupted. However, the source of the voice was no where to be seen, the echoes surrounding them.

Cloud unsheathed his sword. "Who's there?! Show yourself!!"

# The Jaws of Ice - Xenogears #

A figure stepped out from the shadows of the covered train station. He's hair was barely tied back and brown, and the black coat would have hidden him fully from sight if it were for the fact his eyes (not to mention his pants) were dazzling silver like the moon. Pushing some rebellious strands of hair behind his shoulder, he started to slowly walk toward the group, his footsteps echoing throughout the mountains. Tifa got into her fighting stance as Barret raised his gun arm. Only Vincent remained calm and failed to act. The man continued walking toward them, until he was about 15 feet away from them.

"Din't you hear da guy?" Barret shouted, cocking his gunarm. "Who are ya?!" After that, the newcomer stopped, and went into a deep bow.

"Please forgive me for my rudeness. I am Ranez, servant and warrior under my mistress, loyal to the Overlord. I have orders to stop a man with spiky blonde hair," he raised an eyebrow at Cloud, "and I don't think hair comes more spikier than that." Cloud growled at the comment, his back foot sliding backward slightly.

"Who told you to stop us?" Tifa asked, taking a step forward.

Ranez turned to her. "Oh, her name is of no importance to such commoners. Besides, you will probably see her soon enough." Once again, he turned to Cloud, this time smiling slightly, in a very mysterious way. "You will be seeing her for sure, you can count on it…" At that time, that was when Barret stepped in.

"Okay, foo', I dunno who da hell ya think you are, but yer sure as hell messin' with the wrong people! So step outta the way before I blo' your ass outta the way with my gunarm!"

"Such language," a feminine voice mocked behind them, laughing slightly. "And to think this is the mighty AVALANCHE, when in real life they're nothing more than low-life scum, talking like sailors."

Tifa and Barret spun around and saw a woman dressed in black and red, sparkling with bloodstones and rubies. Only Cloud and Vincent were oblivious to the new woman, Cloud thinking about what man in black said and Vincent thinking about Ranez.

"We may not be at the top of the social pyramid, but at least we can fight, and not just taunt like preppy society-freak," Tifa spat (AN coughalfredfromrecvxcough). This girl was making her sick.

"Now, now, Lodia," Ranez scolded jokingly. "We mustn't be rude and stoop to their level."

"Awww, you just took the fun out of this all," she pouted sarcastically. "But I still know one more way to have fun with them." With that, she started pulling out her Dual Haloes. Ranez, getting the clue, reached into his cloak and retrieved his weapon, a gleaming rapier with an elegant handle. The miniature AVALANCHE group began to conform as they saw there was no way out. 

"Come on, Spike!" Barret shouted. "We'll take on da bozo in black!" Cloud nodded, and they tore off in Ranez's direction. Vincent and Tifa signaled each other, and they ran up the stairs at Lodia.

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#Hurry Faster - Final Fantasy 7 #

Down at the train station, Ranez had finally stopped running. He needed to lure the two warriors away from Lodia, so that there wouldn't be any unnecessary accidents. He shook his head and turned around. Both Lodia and him had managed to piss off the group, which had been planned, though Lodia seemed to want to annoy the brunette named Tifa. _Women.._ he thought.

"So, ye stopped runnin' eh? Bout damn time you little pansy!" the tall man called Barret hissed.

Ranez did nothing at first, then he motioned to the two. 

"Well, let's see what you can do, hm?" With that, Barret opened fire. Ranez dodged them all at amazing speed, jumping out of harms way one bullet by one. However, he had been foolish when the firing stopped. He straightened, but saw that Barret was only reloading, and had already finished. Ranez eyes grew, and knowing he had no time to jump, attempted to run. However, just missing a barrage of ammo, he tripped, and one struck him in the shoulder before he hit the ground. 

_Dammit, _he hissed. _Second time… At least this one isn't fatal…_

"Take that, ya damn sucka!"

Annoyed, Ranez stood up. He held his rapier out in front of him, his body sideways toward Cloud and Barret. He concentrated as hard as he could, the gave a shout, "Aero3!!!". The attack knocked Barret over, who gave a cry of pain, only to be hit with, "Comet!".

"Barret!" Cloud yelled. "You okay?"

"Yeah.. Argh dat hurt like a motha-" But Cloud had turned away and charged at Ranez, swing the Ultima Weapon vertically toward his opponent. _A rapier won't stand a chance against a two-handed sword,_ he believed. Yet, he was proven wrong and Ranez came under to block, and Cloud had expected his blade to shatter on impact, but it didn't even quiver. Cloud grunted putting all of his strength into the attack. Ranez grinned, then kicked his legs out from under him. As Cloud went down, he tripped Ranez, and both went on the ground. Barret, sitting weak on the ground, couldn't risk taking a shot. Almost simultaneously, the two fighters jumped up, and a sword fight began. The clanging rang through their ears until Ranez elbowed Cloud in the stomach, then uppercutted him. The blonde hit the ground again, the wind knocked out of him. Ranez, using his good arm, pinned him to the floor, his other hand wielding the rapier. Cloud grimaced, then used his Bolt3 spell to knock Ranez away. 

Meanwhile, Tifa and Lodia were in a fist fight. Lodia, being slightly weaker than Tifa, was losing her side. Tifa saw this and advance with a strong offence. Vincent stood back, unable to attack, for fear or hurting Tifa. Finally, the fighter brunette pulled off a challenging move she had been practicing recently, where she was able to pull both of Lodia's arms behind her back.

"Give up!" Tifa hissed. "There's no point fighting. You're defeated…"

"Heh.." Lodia managed to smirk. "That's what you think…." With that, she focused in her powers. Her eyes began to glow bright white, and a orange light erupted around her. "SUICIDE BLOSSOM!!!" From the heavens rained abnormally large blood colored blossoms, and as they it the ground, it erupted in red-hot flames, hitting all three of them. Tifa gave a slight scream, and Vincent stumbled. Lodia was hurt, but she didn't show it, as she had done this more than once. Vincent regained his footing, and casted a cure spell on Tifa, who was breathing hard on the ground. As ifa tried to regain her train of thought, Lodia started at Vincent. He fired of some rounds as she ran toward him, rings in hand. She simply reflected them back, and Vincent had to dodge out of the way. She cam forward slashing, and the dark man grabbed her wrist with his claw. Trying to over power him for awhile, Lodia kicked him in the stomach, then round-housed him to the head, knocking him down. She walked back over to Tifa, who was starting to realize what was going on. Lodia brought down one of her rings, and Tifa at the last minute grabbed it. They struggled for minutes.

Ranez was facing off Barret and Cloud again, Cloud and Barret in pain from the onslaught of attacks.

"Very nice, you may prove to be a problem after all…" Ranez comments. He looked to the sky, and saw that the moon was right over them. The signal. He turned back to them and sent a wave of blue energy at them, knocking them down and almost out.

"LODIA! It's is time!" Lodia turned away from Tifa, then teleported over to Ranez. Tifa got up, and pulling Vincent to his feet, ran down the stairs.

"Get back here and fight, you cowards!" Tifa yelled.

"Why? We're sparing your lives, you should be grateful," Lodia teased.

"We will meet again, Cloud, you can be assure of it," Ranez whispered, then both enemies faded into the darkness or the night.

After a few Cure2 spells and some ethers, the group was back on their feet again.

"Hey, we're almost there to Correl," remarked Barret. "Might as well finish da trip and sleep in decent beds."

"He's right," said Vincent. "There are too many monsters lurking around tonight. Let us finish this trip."

Tifa and Cloud nodded, and the group started off slowly, Barret in front, Tifa next, Vincent third, and Cloud last. As the other three left, Cloud felt like he was being watched. He looked up to where the lone fenced platform was at, and up there, with the moon to her back, was a woman with glowing green eyes. She stared at him for awhile then turned and walked away. Cloud blinked. It almost looked like… No.. Could it be…? 

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AN: Joy, got this chapter done. ^_^ Been busy still. Thanks Ronnie for reviewing! 

BTW, no Sephiroth isn't going to try to find out what is worst than death so that he can call it upon himself. It was just random coughforeshadowingcough. ^^' Anyways, I know this chapter is short. But be proud of me! I got the whole story planned out, and for you CloTi fans, Tifa's gonna et her big part, but that's not coming up anytime soon. Don't worry, she gets little parts during the time period before that. ^_^ I want to keep it fair. But no more. I don't want to spoil it!


	8. So Close, Yet So Far

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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#On That Day, Five Years Ago - Final Fantasy 7#

            The lonesome general continued his path toward Nibel, the quiet town already in his sights as he left the mountains. The night was dark, and chilly; sew winds washed over him, freezing him to the bone. Yet, he welcomed it. Never before in his days of insanity did he feel such cold. It reminded him that he was sane.

            _Another thing I don't deserve._

            Masochistically, he was keeping a list of everything in his mind he shouldn't have. It was harsh, but oddly comforting.

            _What a paradox. By having the things I don't deserve, it makes me depressed, yet by reminding myself I shouldn't have them, I feel better. Makes me wonder if the Planet's on my side or not._

He shook his head, scolding himself. The Planet had blessed him with this new chance of redemption. It wasn't in his place to question it.

            Sephiroth entered the quiet town. Everyone was in for the night, thankfully.  He passed silently through the town.

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#Anxious Heart - FF7#

The young maiden watched as her knight walked away, sighing with passion. Every time she saw him now, his eyes simply swept her away. The deep crystalline blue with the soft but true green glow was mystical in every way. As the battle had ended, she had watched her former team mates battle her new companions. She knew she needed to have Ranez and Lodia test out their powers, so that A: They could get a feel and understanding of AVALANCHE' 's strengths and weaknesses, and B:  so she could see just how much stronger they had become since her demise. Still, it pained her to see them fight.

A heartbroken feeling crept through her chest as she watched Cloud follow his teammates. At times, she even wished that she was still by his side, just like the old days had been before…

She sighed, the feeling still there. It had taken time for Aeris to push the coldness inside of her away as much as she could, but now this feeling…

As the quadruple began to disappears down the mountain side, she closed her eyes, pushing tears away. No, she was stronger than this, but he broke her inside. So close, yet he was so far away….

_And if I love him so much… Why… Why am I doing this…?_

She blinked, clearing her mind. This was not for revenge. Well, it sort of was, but that was just the added bonus. She need to show him, as well as the rest of the world, just how deceived they were, how the Planet was playing them.

_And then,_ her mind, filled with emotion, explained to her, _you and Cloud, forever until the death of eternity, living in supreme happiness. No more troubles, no more distance, no more tears of pain…_

She sighed again, this time dreamily. She gazed up at the moon, the stars twinkling in the heavens…

And the heartbroken pain intensified, so much she partially doubled over, her breaths becoming ragged and harsh, and she fell to her knees. It ran through her like a thousand jolts of Bolt 2. Then, as soon as it started, it began to slow down to a thud.

_Wha - what was.. .that!?_

It was nothing she had ever experience before. As the pain began to reside, the cold feeling swept through her.

_God damn the Planet! All of this…. I'm so tired of the anguish! Why can't it leave me alone…?_

Behind her, footsteps echoed through the mountains. Trying to catch her breath, she forced herself to stand, just as her three partners came up from the stairs.

"Just as you expected, he is very powerful," Ranez explained, knowing Aeris would want to know as much about him as possible. "He cut techniques are unique, nothing I've ever seen. The other, Barret, was very skilled with his gun."

"Not as much as that Vincent guy," Lodia muttered, rubbing her arm where she had taken a slight shot from the ex-TURK. "That guy's got aim. Kept distracting me from that stupid god damn Tifa bi-"

"LODIA!" Ranez scolded. "Not in front of the mistress! Remember of her friends."

"Sorrrry!" the lady in red whined. "But she can actually fight me! And you know how I hate to lose…"

"Wish I could've been there to see the cat fight," Avian smirked, who then doubled over after receiving a punch in the stomach by his female warrior. "OW!!! Wh.. What? She was... *****cough* hot…."

"Whatever!" Lodia growled, then sighed passionately. "I give points to Vincent, he was kind of cute."

Under the shadows that hid his face, Ranez twitches, giving the slightest sign of jealousy. All the while, Aeris sweat dropped, then grinned.

"Right," she smiled. "Anyways, what did you find out, Avian?"

"Just as you thought," he informed. "He was there. Had to fight him, and he's good enough to knock me back a bit. Didn't have time to search the place."

"Right," Aeris grinned darkly. " Boys, and lady, we have a trip to make."

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#Corel theme -FF7 #

Corel was amazing. The once run down village was now well built and beautiful. There were small streams running through the green mountain sides, flowers thriving in the sweet-smelling dirt, and homes that were almost as grand as Aeris's had once been. There was a market area, full of people, and the debris was gone.

When Cloud, Barret, Vincent, and Tifa had arrived the night before, Cid and the others were already asleep at the inn. When morning had come, they all talked about the night before. Only, Cloud left out the seeing Aeris thing out. At times he wondered if they all thought he was crazy…

"We gotta hurry," Tifa began as they started their meeting. "I doubt those people even sleep."

"Indeed," added Red. "We don't even know why these people are searching for the materia."

"Let alone which one or ones they're trying to find," added Cloud.

"Dammit! We need some god damn answers!" Cid shouted.

"The old man's got a point," Yuffie smirked. "We can't do much except try to hold them off for now."

"#$^^!!!"

"!!!" Yuffie took of running, Cid dangerously behind her with his Venus Gospel.

"Er, anyways," Cait began, sweat dropping. "All we know is that there are three of them, maybe more, they're hella strong, and they might be hunting some sort of special materia. What now?"

"Stick to da ole plan o' course!" Barret ordered. 

"Barret's right," Cloud agreed. "We need to figure out what they're doing, but until then, we gotta follow them and hold them of as long as we can. We need to head to Gongaga ASAP. Let's move out!"

He turned to head out..

"Damn! Again!? Stop saying it like such a wimp! Can't you say, 'Let's Mosey' or something!?"

"What the..!?"

"Heh heh…"

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            #Queen of the Abyss - FF9#

The four approached the gates to Gongaga. It had been rebuilt finally, and looked much better than before. Aeris was glad that it had been cleaned up. Zack would have liked it…

"We need to hurry…" Ranez started. "We can't let them see you just yet."

"They might have a lead on," Avian added. "Heh, surprising enough. Still, they might know where we're goin'."

"They already do," Aeris stated, stepping forward from the group, reaching out of her thoughts. "Still, it's not a disadvantage for us. We can handle them for now…"

"My lady," Lodia interrupted. "With all due respect, we, well, we did have to sort of struggle with them. They're not easy targets. What's worse is that they keep getting stronger, and not only that, but the link between this Planet and the Overlord is still very weak…"

"Yes… He keeps in touch through our souls, but the connection has yet to strengthen," Ranez added thoughtfully. "It will go better in time, and thus so will we…"

"But we gotta worry about AVALANCHE getting stronger faster," Avian sneered, not liking the idea.

"Fear not, my friends," Aeris smiled. "Once we find it, we won't have to worry about such trivial things. Now come, this place brings back too many harsh memories for my liking. Let's search this place."

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#Mako Reactor - FF7#

            Their footsteps echoing through the calm of the late afternoon, Aeris and the others entered the destroyed reactor of Gongaga. The sun was up, but was the verge of beginning its retreat behind the horizon.  As they approached the center of the rubble, Aeris nodded to Avian, who grinned. As he stepped forward, green energy began to shine around his fists, the glow rippling from him. He raised one hand, and a shot of the energy fired out, causing the rubble to explode. As the dust clear, Aeris approached, waving her hands apart as if to cause the air born particles to clear from her path, of which they did. Looking down, she noticed a ladder, a greenish white mist rising up from it. 

            _Lifestream.._ She thought. _This is it… The second to last place…_

            Ranez followed her steps, but she shook her head.

            "No," she whispered, "they're coming tonight. The time isn't right. I'm going to need you to hold them off when they get here." Her voice held assurance. The three nodded, Avian no longer grinning. "Do what you must, but don't harm them, especially Cloud." With that, she hopped down the chute, not bothering to climb the ladder. The three turned to each other, staring as if to have a silent argument, until Ranez jerked his head toward the entrance and walked off. Avian shrugged to Lodia, and the two followed, while the sun died in the sky.

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            #Queen of the Abyss - FF9#

            It was a red dusk when Cloud and the rest reached Gongaga. Most were out of breath, excluding Yuffie and Red and Cait Sith, who were fine, and Cid and Barret, who looked as if they had seen better days. Cloud hunched over for a moment, slowing his breathing., then stood straight. 

            "We've got to be at least ten minutes behind them!!! We'll have to split up, just in case they aren't at the reactor. Barret, take Cait Sith and head to the village! Tifa, take Yuffie and search the forest. Vincent, Cid and Red, you're with me. Let's go!" With a nod, everyone split ways.

            Sprinting, the quartet headed into the reactor. Reaching the entrance, Red slowed to a walk, sniffing the air. 

            "Someone's here.." He growled quietly.

            As if by nature, Vincent, Cid and Cloud glanced around anxiously. 

            "Shadows," Vincent hissed, pointing at three human-shaped shades that flowed over the ground. The four backed up, back to back, as three persons dropped to the ground, surrounding them.

            "Back for more I see," Lodia smirked.

            "Yeah, and I see you brought a friend," muttered Cloud, eyeing Avian.

            "Just to make things more interesting," added Avian.

            "Enough %#$&* chit chat!" Cid shouted. "Just what the hell do you people want?"

            "It does not concern you.. Yet," said Ranez. "Well, it doesn't concern all of you anyway." Instinctively, the dark warriors turned toward Cloud. Soon after, the rest of his team mates did as well. Confusion swept over him, and he would've blushed under their stares if it weren't for the fact that these people were trying to kill him.

            "W - What?" he stuttered.

            Ranez took a few steps toward him. "We shall give you an option," he told Cloud. "Either leave now with your friends, or agree to come quietly with us."

            "How about C," Cid interrupted. "We kick you $$&&**# asses!" 

            "No dice, Ranez, was it? Don't let the hair fool you," Cloud hissed.

            "Well, it seems like you have a decent memory now, Cloud. At least you're thinking straight, no longer mixing up other people's pasts with your pathetic one, or so I heard-"

            Ranez barely had time to block with his rapier as Cloud attacked like lightening. They struggled for a bit, trying to overcome each other, when Cloud was suddenly with a red energy blast, giving a cry of anguish as he flew off of Ranez. 

            "Cloud!" Red shouted, who made to move, but stopped as Avian took a shot at him, holding him in his place.

            "Don't move unless you wanna join blonde boy," Avian smirked. Cid cussed in return and Red backed down.

            Meanwhile, Ranez stood up, sword out, approaching Cloud, who was on the floor, groaning in pain from Lodia's shot. She stayed behind Ranez, powered up, ready to fire again.

            "Oooo, set of the bomb, didn't I?" He teased. "You know Cloud, you shouldn't let your anger get the best of you; that's when accidents happen."

            "What do you want?" Cloud hissed, pushing himself up to his hand and knees.

            "Listen closely Cloud. We've got plans, plans for you, for our mistress, for our Overlord, for this Planet. It would be best not to get in the way yet, until we need you. So why don't you be smart and just go back to Corel until later."

            "No way… If this has something to do wit the planet, then it involves everyone," Cloud said, his head bowed down to the ground, face hidden. "And I don't know what your true plans are, but I can figure they're not for the better!" With a sudden burst of energy, he lunged at Ranez, slashing forward. Caught off guard, he gave a shout of pain as Cloud's sword nicked him across the chest. The ex-mercenary was about to go in for a killing blow, but was forced to maneuver away from one of Lodia's blasts. It was then that the fight was on.

            Giving a war cry, Red dashed into battle, knocking down Lodia, while Vincent turned on Avian. 

            "The reactor, Cloud! There's some one in there! I can smell her!" Red shouted over the commotion. Cloud nodded, sprinting off toward the glowing chute as Red turned back toward Lodia, who was preparing for round 2 with the beast. As Cloud was almost there, Ranez pushed pass him, blocking the way.

            "Going somewhere?" he whispered dangerously.

            "He is, but not with you!" Came Cid's voice as he charged into Ranez, who clashed weapons with him. "Cloud, go!"

            Cloud wasted no time in passing the fighting duo. Reaching the shaft, he turned and loosely grabbed the ladder, sliding down it. With a thunk, he hit the metal grating floor.  It was a small catwalk over Mako, that went on toward a large platform in the distance. The mist was so heavy in the air, it even made breathing hard. Putting a hand over his mouth, he started forward slowly, not wanting to exert himself.

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            # No Music#

            She found comfort in the whining of machinery, for it stopped the endless thoughts that swam through her mind. She kneeled on the side of the platform, eyes closed, concentrating to find any sort of energy wave. She could feel the faint one from before, but it was stronger now, just barely.

            _Not even close, which means it's either in one of two places. Nibelheim, or…._

            She swallowed. Northern Crater was the last place she wanted to go, knowing that the voice of the Planet would be strongest there…

            _It's too northern to be Nibelheim… So it must be in the crater… No matter, I still have to stop at Nibelheim anyways-_

            Suddenly, she felt a headache come on, blurring vision and making her dizzy.

            _Child, you must think clearly……. Come back to the light.._

            "Shut… up……" She hissed. Struggling, she pushed the voice out of her mind successfully, but the Planet still had left its mark. Luckily, she was able to hear the slow footsteps coming her way. Even as her vision cleared, even with the mist up, hiding the person from view, she knew who it was.

            _No time…_

            Standing, she rushed the man, powering up a Sleepel spell as he headed toward the center of the platform.

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            Suddenly, fatigue hit him, and Cloud lost all energy or motivation to continue forward.. As he dropped to his knees, he could see a pinkish blur pushing past him.

            "Aeris….?" He called out unconsciously, before hitting the floor, sound asleep.

AN: Ok, for starters, you can't get mad at me for not updating. Why? Because I told you to remind me if you wanted more :P. BTW, I hate trying to get Alexander. I spent 3 HOURS TRYING TO FIND SNOW!  Though I did find that cool ice chute that takes you back to the world map, and it was fun snowboarding.

As a side note there is a dog outside my house that won't stop barking, and I'm about ready to take a stick to it. -_-

Also, if you people have ANY QUESTIONS on what's going on in the story, do me a favor and ask in a review. I need this for later, and it's hard to think of questions, when you kinda already know what's going on. :D Plus, this also helps you.


	9. I See Dead People

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR NOTES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE! THEY HOLD KEY INFORMATION TO WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!! Thank you ^_^

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            The next day….

            Cloud could feel the soft blankets under him before he even opened his eyes. When he finally did, he held an arm over his face like a visor, as the bright sun glared in from the inn's windows.

            "So, you finally have awakened."

            "Red…?" Cloud muttered lazily. "What happened?"

            "That's one thing we'd like to know. We managed to hold off the three, but after a while, they ran off again. We went to find you, but you were unconscious in the reactor. Can you remember anything that happened?"

            Cloud went to answer, but then shut his mouth soon after. He was about to say how he thought he saw Aeris, but then he himself didn't believe it was real. He most likely was hallucinating, and it's not like she was the only one who wore pink…

            "Cloud?" Red asked expectantly.

            "Someone must have casted Sleepel on me when I got down there. I really don't remember much after that.  Did Ranez and them find what they were looking for?"

            Red shook his head. "No, we didn't see the fourth person leave, but they scattered when the others arrived from their searches. Tifa's been worried over you, you know."

            "Where is she?" Cloud yawned, standing up.

            "By the reactor. We took turns watching it last night in case they returned, even though they didn't."

            Cloud nodded and headed out of the building. Red watched him go, then laid down on the ground, thinking. Last  night, he was able to pick up the woman's faint scent, even through the Mako, but it was a smell he hadn't taken in for 5 years. 

            _The Mako must have overpowered my senses…_ He thought, or at least, he hoped.

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            "Tifa!"

            She looked up, upon hearing her name, and saw the blonde walking towards her.

            "Cloud!" She sat up and raced toward him, stopping when she reached him. "Are you ok?"

            "Yeah," he smiled, "I'm fine, don't worry. Did anything happen while I was out?"

            She shook her head. "Nothing. I pretty much figure that they know whatever they're looking for isn't here…."

            "Which means they're heading toward Nibelheim now. What the need is probably there and is most likely our last chance. We can't be behind this time."

            "Yeah, but even if we head out now, we won't be able to make it on foot. Unless we can catch a chocobo…"

            "Don't @$%^& bother," came Cid's voice, and the two turned to see the rest of the ground following. Cid approached him, tossing his PHS into Cloud's hand.

            "Just got a call from the crew," he explained. "#^$*%* finally finished the repairs. They'll be here in 5 to pick us up."

"Excellent," grinned Cloud, pocketing the PHS. "Everyone get your stuff, we're hot on their trail."

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            The ground shook slightly as the Highwind landed in the pass between Nibelheim and the Nibel Mountains.  The team hopped down the ladder even before the ship had landed fully.

            "Yo! Hurry yo asses up, people!" Barret hollered as they jumped. "We gotta hurry up and stop whatever the hell they're doin'!"

            "Gawd! No need to yell!" Yuffie whined, sprinting past him as they started running.

            "Don't you two start now!" Tifa commanded. "Save it for later!"

            "Cloud," Cait spoke up. "This body isn't all that fast…"

            "I gotcha. Vincent, Barret, stay with Cait and follow behind as a backup. They most likely know we're coming, so we need an anchor." 

            "Got'cha Spike," nodded Barret.

            "Right, come on people, let's go."

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            They started their accent, pushing their way up the mountain. Tifa, Cloud, Red, Yuffie and Cid ran in silence, using the tubes where the Materia Keeper had once been. They all ran behind Cloud, who could remember where everything had been. Jumping off the ledge, they moved on.

            Meanwhile….

            Ranez emotionlessly watched Barret, Vincent, and Cait hurry along to the bridge. Rapier in hand, he jumped down in front of them, slicing the bridge supports in the process.

            "That's as far as you'll be going…"

            With Cloud…

            "Come on, just a bit farther!" Cloud shouted behind him. He and Red were a few meters in front of the group, his enhanced body faster than most of theirs. They were at the Materia fountain, which had dried up at last. He opened the door, and the two ran in, but before the others could follow, the door slammed shut.

            "What the!?" Tifa hissed, before grabbing the handle and pulling with all her might. It was locked.

            "Long time no see…" Said two voices from behind her, Yuffie, and Cid.

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            "It won't budge," Cloud sighed, looking at the door. "And we can't blast it down, we'll take the whole mountain with us…"

            "There's no time, Cloud," Red informed. "We must hurry on."

            "You're right, they'll be ok," he agreed,  and they began running. Charging into the reactor, Cloud jumped onto a chain and casually slid down, while Red simply jumped to the next floor unharmed. Entering the next room, they crossed the catwalk. 

            "Here we are…" Red stated as they neared the door.

            "In the Jenova room?" Cloud questioned.

"It's the only other place…" Red offered. 

            Cloud pushed the door open, and the two walked in. Nothing jumped out. The ex-mercenary walked to the center.

            "So much for surprises…" he drifted off, glancing around.

            "Cloud… Something's up with the Mako pods," noticed Red. 

            "What?"

            Red walked over to on the far side, from the door, standing on his hind legs to peer inside.

            "They're still here."

            "What!?" Cloud ran over to his side, gazing in as well. Sure enough, the mutated body of a once human was inside. "But…. They were supposed to be cleared out…"

            "That's not all. It looks like they're in stasis as well….."

            _SLAM!_

            Cloud looked toward the now closed door, and ran to it, pulling on the handles with all his might.

            "Damn, it locked! What should we do Red-" He turned to see Red wasn't there. "Red?" Walking toward the center of the room again, he realized Red was nowhere to be found.

            "Great… Locked alone in a room full of monsters, and now my friend's missing, just what the hell is going on-"

            _Cloud…_

He stopped at the sound of his name, eyes wide open. The voice was familiar, but no... It's couldn't have been…

            "Cloud."

            The melody of her voice drifted from the top of the stairs, and he turned as the door to the Jenova room had opened, when she walked out.

            "I told you I'd come back when it was all over." Her delicate features gave him that smile from before. Something was different, but he pushed it aside.

            "I… almost lost hope, Aeris… But I never should have doubted you…" He loved how her name rolled softly off his lips. He could remember finding comfort in just saying her name, but now, she was standing above him, more beautiful than Shiva herself. The green light from behind her, which came from the Jenova room, accented her curves and the elegant new clothing she wore, which was mostly like her old outfit, just more… feminine, not that she wasn't before or anything.  She started her decent down the stairs, hips rolling seductively. His eyes remained locked on hers, however, entranced in their green glow.

            She stopped in front of him, still gazing into his eyes. 

            "Aeris…" Finally, he was at a loss for words. Reality began taking affect, and he had so many questions. She stopped him, putting a finger on his lips. A faint blush tinted his face. It had been a long time since she had touched him.

            "There's not much time Cloud," she whispered softly, her voice seeming to push out the sounds of the pumps of the reactor.

            He felt his adrenaline rush, a hint of fear in his blood.

            "You mean… You aren't leaving again, are you?" His voice as well wasn't above a whisper. He lightly grasped her shoulder, as if he was afraid she would leave.

            She laughed slightly, shaking her head. "No Cloud, I'm here to stay this time." He calmed down, hearing this, knowing her word was as true as an angel's. He smiled, still not believing that she was right there. He knew, from her gently touch, this wasn't a dream.

            "I'm here to free you Cloud."

            "Free me.. From what?" If he wasn't confused before, he surely was now, and his face showed it.

            "The Planet Cloud. For too long you've let it manipulate you. It did the same to me as well."

            "Aeris…" He pulled back slightly. "What are you talking about…?"

            "Don't be afraid Cloud. It's me, remember? The same Aeris as before…" She smiled. He wanted to believe it was her, wanted to trust her, but she still seemed different. He couldn't put his finger on it though….

            "This world is but one of many, Cloud… I've been past this Planet's limits… And I've finally was able to open my eyes to the truth. We are but pawns in a mighty world for power."

            "What do you mean?"

            "In this universe, the Planets are like countries, fighting for power. They are the leaders, and we are the soldiers they send into war. We suffer so they can gain power. Through using our lives, through our pain, they can succeed."

            Cloud stared at her, unable to believe this. This couldn't have been the truth.

            She continued. "But I've been past the limits," she repeated. "There are existences out there who are peaceful, who see our pain, and want to right it. The Planet lies, Cloud, there is no Promise Land full of happiness here. It's only full of Lifestream and WEAPONS. But… I know where a true Promise Land lies, and it was meant for you and me."

            "Aeris…" He looked emotionally at her, not believing this, _but to be with her…._

            She took a step toward him, making up for the space he put between them. She reached for his hand, and he let her, reaching for her other. She leaned in, he pulled her closely, lowering his face to hers….

            And pushed her to the side, as a figure in black rushed them, a silver-glinting sword in hand.

            "Cloud, don't listen to her! She's manipulating you!" The figure shouted, his weapon connecting with the hard mound. Aeris pushed herself up to her knees, but Cloud wouldn't let her up. After a moment of shock, he regained his breath.

            "Ironic how these words seem to be coming from you, _Sephiroth!_" Cloud hissed, kneeling by Aeris, one arm wrapped around her for protection, the other at the handle of his Ultima Weapon.

            Sephiroth turned, pointing his sword at the downed Ancient. "Listen to me! She's not who you think she is!"

            "Cloud..." Aeris's meek voice trembled, and she  curled closer to him.

            "It's alright… He whispered. "I won't mess up this time." He turned to Sephiroth, standing and stepping in front of Aeris. "Just when the hell are you going to learn that dead people STAY dead!?" He took his battle stance.

            Sephiroth lowered his weapon, looking at Cloud. "Cloud, I don't have time to explain much, but I've been sent by the Planet to help you-"

            "I don't want to hear your lies!" He charged, fueled with anger. Sephiroth blocked with his Masumune, their weapons locked.

            "Cloud, stop!" He shouted.

            "And how many times have I told that to you?!" He hissed. "Go. Now. I never want to see you again."

            "Cloud," Sephiroth sounded almost desperate. "I know I've hurt you, more than I can describe in words-"

            "Shut the hell up!!" Cloud nearly cried. "You don't know what it's like. I managed to put my past behind me, and seeing your face again has reopened the wounds. I don't want your apology!!"

            "Then at least listen to me!" Sephiroth pushed back, knocking Cloud back a bit. Again, Sephiroth lowered his weapon. 

            "Haven't you used me enough already!?" Sephiroth flinched. "Why should I!?"

            "Because this time it's the truth, Cloud." Another voice sounded out, calm and control.

            Both men as well as Aeris turned at the new comer's voice. All of the were shocked to see Zack standing in front, SOLDIER outfit and Buster Sword and all. 

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Oooooo, a little more complex now ain't it? ^_~ Still confusing as hell in my opinion though.

First, wanna start off saying sorry for the bad spelling. I don't have time to spell check.. At some point, when I have time, I'll go back and fix it. Til then, DAMN YOU SPELL CHECKER!

Second, I still need people to ask any questions they have about the story, or even if you don't have any, make one up or something. ^_^ At some point, one of the characters in the story has to explain what the heck is going on, and I can't really make the questions, since I know what's happening or what will happen.

Every reader: DAMN YOU AUTHOR!

^_^'

Third: I need couple ideas for some of the characters. Being as there are 3 Ocs now, I thought it would be more fun if you chose them.

Current couples: SheraxCid, CloudxAeris, LodiaxRanez (for now)

People that can be picked for possible couples (and remember, this isn't yaoi, so keep it straight and possible, ^_^)

Tifa

Lodia

Avian

Vincent

Zack

Sephiroth

BTW, when I say possible, I mean like couples that could happen, so don't go picking Tifa and Sephiroth.

PS (Readers: ARGH!!! *get out knives*) Sorry sorry, lol, but here's a few couples that I DON'T want: LodiaxRanez, LodiaxAvian, TifaxSephiroth

Lol, now you're probably thinking what's the point?

Thanks to:

Anya : Any review is helpful, even when it's just a 'ooo nice story' or something. ^_^ It makes me want to write.

Unit17Hunters : Lol, yeah, I am. Sorry for the lack of originality there, but I wanted a character with a unique weapon, and it started with Mint's cause I like the look, but if you notice, she also gets a lot of her personality from Mint, also did you notice she's a bit like Mode Master as well? (With the formality) Ranez is like Psycho Master, and Avian like Trap Master. I didn't mean for this to happen, but, well, it kinda turned out that way. :/


	10. They're Released

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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            "No…" He moaned, backing away. "This isn't real, this can't be real…"

            "It is Cloud. I know it must be a shock, but calm down for a minute so we can explain…" Zack started to advance.

            "Stop it!" Aeris ran to Cloud, wrapping her arms around him. Zack stopped, shocked. "Hasn't he been through enough already?! He deserves to see the light!"

            "Get away from him, Cetran," Sephiroth growled dangerously, sword still in hand. "Stop clouding his mind with lies..." Zack softly held a hand up to his chest, stopping him, though his blue eyes were still locked on the two. He began his approach. "Aeris, step aside." His voice was solid and cold, though his eyes held sadness.

            "No." Determination etched on her features, she stood front of Cloud, who seemed lost in his own mind. She stepped closer toward Zack, standing tall, looking up at him with defiance.

            "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you make me. _Step aside_."

            "_No._"

            He made a move to put his hand of her shoulder, but she knocked it aside. With that, she took a step closer, their faces close. 

            "He's mine," her voice whispered dangerously, barely audible to Zack alone, deaf to Cloud and Sephiroth. "And I'll be damned if I let you take him away from me."

            "You can't threaten me, Aeris. The Planet knows what you're trying to do."

            "And so it sent you and Sephiroth to stop me?" she started laughing, her voice loud enough for all to hear this time. "It's using you, Zack, when will you see the light?"

            "It's you who are still in the dark, Aeris." With that, he pushed her aside, forcefully, causing her to stumble and fall back. Zack continued toward Cloud, as Aeris rubbed her head. She went to stand, but felt a sword at her throat.

            "Don't move." 

            She looked up, Sephiroth holding the Masumune at her throat.

            "Cloud…" Zack, held a hand out toward Cloud, who was kneeling on the ground, holding his head.

            "No…"

            "Cloud, you can trust me…"

            "I don't know…"

            "We were friends Cloud, I've never led you astray before, right?" Zack's voice had lost its cutting edge, and was much more gently.

            "I…" Cloud stopped to think, gaping slightly.

            "Cloud…" Aeris started, before feeling the Masumune press itself harder on her throat, silencing her.

            Cloud looked up at Zack, the looked at Sephiroth, then Aeris. 

            _That look… In her eyes… It's different…_

            He made his decision.

            Zack grasped his hand, and helped him to his feet, smiling.

            "No…" Aeris cried softly. 

            "Face it Aeris, he _did_ see the truth, just not yours," Zack said.

            "Well, then, it will just take longer than I expected," she hissed. Looking at Sephiroth, she held out her hand, and a blast of wind knocked him off his feet away from her. Sephiroth slid on the ground, stopping before hitting the wall, shaking his head as he stood back up again. All three watched her anxiously as she rose slowly, a look of hatred in her eyes. She turned to Cloud, and he could see the betrayal in her eyes.

            "So, you made your choice. Throwing away an eternity of joy and freedom to be a pawn here." She turned, and started up the stairs, her dress flowing lightly behind her.

            "This isn't over, Aeris!" Zack yelled up to her.

            "On the contrary, my beloved Zack," she said darkly, looking over her shoulder. Reaching the top of the stairs, she turned around again; an odd wind began to pick up, blowing through everyone's hair. "It has yet to begin." She held up her hand over her head, a ball of electricity started to form. The bottom of her dress began to flap, and shots of lightening began to spark around the capsules. She suddenly clenched her hand, the energy in her palm dispersing into nothing, and all of the capsules sudden exploding with energy. All of the machinery shorted out, and the lights erupted, the room darkening. The only light visible was from the room behind Aeris and the light from the Mako in the capsules.

            "What did she just do?!" Zack cried out, trying to see.

            Cloud didn't bother to look around. He kept staring up at Aeris's silhouette. The wind had died, so she was standing there looking down at them. He stared into her eyes, which were entirely green, an eerie glow shining down from them.

            "The capsules…" Sephiroth whispered. "They're opening."

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            "The hell!?" Cursed Barret, as Vincent, himself, and Cait watched the bridge fall to the other side.

            Vincent kneed by the edge. "It's a long drop from here…"

            "Well, there's gotta be someway around!" Cait shouted hopelessly.

            "Maybe, the question is, can you find it?" Ranez's voice sounded behind them.

            "The hell are you doing here? Where's your friend?" Barret shouted, readying his gun.

            Ranez landed on the ground. "They're with your other friends."

            "Let me guess, you cut the rope." Vincent stated, not a question. "Why putting so much work into splitting us up?"

            Ranez turned to him. "It's nice to know someone in the group has brains. Simple. We're buying our lady some time to talk to your leader."

            "Yeah, and who is 'your lady'?" asked Cait. "I never caught her name before."

            "She'll reveal herself when she pleases, you pathetic robot," Ranez scolded.

            A click was heard from Barret's gun as he prepared to fire, but Ranez chided "Uh, uh, uuuh" and powering up, he sent a strong blast of energized wind, that tore through the three painfully, knocking them off the mountain side to the ground below. 

            "Problem solved. Now to find the others," he smirked.

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            "Can't you people just bug OFF for once!" whined Yuffie.

            "Naw, it's so much fun picking on you shrimp," barked Avian, causing Yuffie to redden.

            "Why you!!!"

            "Don't let him get to you Yuf," Cid told. "He obviously can't $%%&*( take on the big boys, so he sticks to the kiddies."

            "SHUT UP CID!" At this, Cid smirked.

            "Not now, you guys," Tifa scolded giving a look at Lodia. "We've got problems."

            "Oh, you don't even know the half of it," laughed Lodia. "A war is about to begin, and all you can worry about are your pathetic friends. Why don't we make it easy for you and rid you of them?" She twirled one of her hoops around her finger.

            "If you have touched them in any way…" Tifa's threat let the end open for suggestions.

            "Oooo, touchy aren't we? I guess he really is all worth that." Now, everyone was pushed away, it was only the two of them. They stepped so close to each other, you could almost see the electricity between their eyes.

            "Of course, more than your precious Mistress." She whispered, dangerously low.

            "Don't push your luck, Tifa." The smirk gone, she hissed it.

            "There wasn't any luck to begin with. Now open the door."

            "Make me."

            Tifa didn't even bother to wait. In a flash, she rammed her fist into Lodia's gut. With wide eyes, she doubled over in pain. Springing into action, Avian fired a shot of green energy at Tifa. Being to busy taking out Lodia, she didn't see it coming, and it slammed into her, throwing her into the wall and knocking her out as she hit the floor. Cid grabbed his spear as Cait charged and the battle was on.

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            Roars filled the room as the first monster started to pull itself free. One by one they began to exit their Mako chambers, the years of torment and anguish expressing itself as scream.  The whole time, Aeris stood at the top of the steps, gazing down, smiling victoriously.

            Out of the corner of his eye, Cloud could see Sephiroth looking uncomfortable, and he knew why. 

            _When we visited… No… When Zack and Sephiroth visited the reactor._ He winced. It still stung when he messed his memories with Zack's. _It must be déjà vu all over again for him…_ He felt no sympathy, simply an understanding. Hopefully, he wouldn't lose it though….

            More screams were heard from the Jenova room, and he knew they were running out of time.

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            "Dolphin Blow!"

            "Hyper Jump!"

"UGH!"

            _Thump._

            Lodia crashed to the ground after hitting the wall, dust and water raining onto the ground. The strength from the combined limit breaks from Cid and Tifa was enough to knock her out from the explosion. Tifa kneeled to the ground, her breath ragged as she calmed down. Cid cursed, running his hand through his hair. Lodia didn't move.

            Meanwhile, Yuffie was facing off Avian. 

"It's just you and me, honeybunch," Avian mocked.

"Shut your mouth!" Yuffie shouted. "And stop calling me that! It's pissing me off!"

"But you're so cute when you're angry," he teased.

"ARGH!!" She threw her Conformer at him. "GAWD! You're so lame!"

Avian side stepped, then charged forward, a long, dark blue and purple staff made of peacock ore and adorned with diamonds. He swiped at Yuffie, who hopped out of the way. She caught her Conformer as it returned, and easily landed. She almost fell over from her laughing fit though.

"BWA HA HA HA!!!" 

"The hell?" Avian stood, confused. "The hell's wrong with you?"

She doubled over, laughing ever harder, only able to point at him.

"….What?" He checked himself over. "What's wrong with me?!"

"St…..Staff…."

"…." He looked at it, then her, then it, then shook his head. "Shut your mouth you stupid brood! For your information, this staff was given to me by a Cetran princess!!"

"What…. Ha ha ha… Whatever you say… Girly man!!"

            He growled, and started to chase after her, swinging his staff madly. She began crying through her laughing, barely able to breathe as she bounded away. He brought his staff down as she hopped up onto a ledge. He tried hitting her with it, but she was up too high.

            "Dammit! I need a longer stick..." he mumbled, but she overheard.

            "HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

            Avian blushed for a moment. "SHUT!!! UP!!!!!!!!" He powered up, sending a blast of earth magic at her ledge, which crumbled. The ninja, caught off guard, fell with the rocks, dust kicking up. She didn't care though, as she was still trying to regain her breath.

            "Ow…" she moaned, her sides aching.

            Foot steps in front of her, and Avian had his staff above his head, ready to bring it down on her head.

            "Game over, you ninja whore," he smirked.

            "Say what you want, _compensation boy!"_

            Smirk wiped off his face, he began bringing his staff down. He didn't make it, as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, just to meet a white fist hit his face as he went sliding backward. Yuffie looked up to see Cait and his moogle plus Barret there, as well as Vincent, who was running off to help Tifa with her wounds while Cid made sure Lodia didn't move.

            "Bout time…" Yuffie wheezed as Cait's moogle grabbed her hand to help her off her knees.

            "Better late than never, you little thief," Barret grinned.

            Avian shook his head as he started to get up. "Damn moogles…" 

             The sound of a gun clicking made him stop.

            "I wouldn't move if I were you, foo'." Avian looked up hatefully at Barret, who had his gun arm aimed at him.

            The battle over, AVALANCHE reformed, minus two members. They turned to they're captives, Barret guarding Avian, Lodia off to the side unconscious. 

            "Cloud and Red should've been back by now," Tifa muttered, worried. "What could be taking them?"

            "Don't worry, Teef," Barret comforted. "Let's get some answers from this dope and get him to open the door." The entire team turned to look at Avian, who was grinning.

            "Sorry, but I've got a strict don't-ask-don't-tell thing going on-" He didn't talk much until Barret grabbed him by the throat.

            "Shut yer mouth unless we tell you to talk," he hissed.

            "Where are they?!" shouted Cait.

            "Where are who?" Avian grinned innocently.

            "Don't start with that, where are Cloud and Red?" Vincent's voice was dangerously low.

            His grin didn't falter. "They're dead."

            Tifa gasped inwardly. "No… you lie!"

            Avian barked a laugh. "Yep, I'm such a bad lier! Heh, heh…" Tifa didn't bother holding back, he ran forward and delivered a strong punch to his stomach. Barret dropped him, and he doubled over in pain. She grabbed him by his shirt. 

            "Stop with the BS! Forget the answers, just open the door!" She twitched slightly in anger.

            "I… c…can't…."

            "And why not!?"

            "Because we didn't lock it." Ranez's cool voice came form behind them. They turned, and tifa dropped Avian, who gasped for air.

            "Then who %$^*&( did!?" Cid demanded.

            Ranez just gave a small smile with a 'hmph' and walked to the door, taping on it to check the metal type.

            "You gonna answer, ya fruit!" Yuffie whined.

            Ranez looked over his shoulder. "You know, you people sure are dense. There _are_ four of us."

            "Our apologies, we've only seen three," Vincent said coldly.

            "Well, you can see her as soon as she is done with her business between Cloud and her. It was quite the private matter, so it's no wonder she blocked you off. But with that dog-"

            "His name is Red!" Cait yelled.

            "Right, whatever," Ranez rolled his eyes. "Who knows what she did to him."

            "If you people hurt either of them in any way, I swear I'll rip off your arm and beat you with it!!" Tifa screeched.

            "Ha! Funny. Your kind always makes me laugh."

            Tifa and Cid began approaching him, but stopped short when howls echoed through the mountains. More met to greet the earlier, all of them bone-chilling.

            "What the $#%$( hell…." Barret and Cid whispered at the same time. The mountain began to shake, and some of the ceiling began to fall.

            "That would be our queue," Ranez stated matter-of-factly. Avian kicked Barret down who cried "****!!!" as he fell, and hopped up.              Ranez moved to Lodia, who was beginning to stir. "Wake up Lodia, we're leaving." She rubbed her head and nodded, getting up, and the three ran. Barret went to give chase but Tifa stopped him. "Later, Barret! We gotta find Cloud!" He nodded reluctantly, and the team took off.

            They reached the reactor where the screams seemed to be rising from.  Randomly, icicles would form and fires would start, as well as bolts of lightening would slam into the ground, and the earth would shake.

            "What's going on!?" Yuffie cried.

            "We need to keep going!" told Vincent. They charged to the steps, but Tifa stopped them, shaking her head. 

            "There's not enough room for all of us inside. Three of us should go in, the rest hold the entrance."          

            "I'll go!" Yuffie volunteered then grabbed Vincent. "Come on Vinny!" Vincent simply sweat dropped, muttering how his name wasn't 'Vinny', and the three headed in.

            They ran inside, Tifa then Yuffie then Vincent, and the two girls headed straight to the chain to climb down. 

            "There's Red!" Vincent shouted over the noise, and Tifa turned, seeing the unconscious creature outside the closed doors that led to Jenova's room. Tifa swallowed and slid down the chain.

            "He's not.. Dead, is he?" Yuffie whimpered, following Tifa's lead. Vincent simply hopped down to the catwalk below, beating the girls, and ran to Red's side, kneeling as the two approached from behind.

            "He's alright," Vincent claimed, checking is pulse. "He's only stunned." With that, he reached for his Restore materia. Letting the energy flow through him, he called out. "Cure!!" As a purple light surrounded Red, he opened his eyes.

            "Ugh.. What happened…?"

            "We'll figure that out later," told Yuffie and Tifa ran to the door, pulling on the handles.

            "It won't open!" She cried, frustrated. Yuffie approached, pulling out her Lightening materia. "Stand back, Tifa!" She concentrated, as the materia gave off a green glow. She picked the 3rd level spell. 

"BOLT!!!" Lightening began to slam into the door, but right when it touched the door, the door began glowing green, and the lightening shot back at Yuffie, who was forced to duck.

"ACK!! What happened!?" She shouted.

"The door seems to have a resist spell on it," Red stated, starting to stand.

Losing hope, Tifa turned to the door, heartbroken. "Cloud…" 

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            "We could use a plan about now!" Zack shouted through the monsters' cries. They were beginning to approach them. The three were backed against the wall, weapons out.

            "There's only 11," mumbled Sephiroth.

            "_Only_ 11!?!" hissed Cloud. "Well, sorry, Mr. I-used-to-be-a-demi-God, but you're not all powerful anymore!" Sephiroth turned, giving him a look, and Cloud caught it returning one of his own.

            "Not now, you two!" Zack shouted, as he charged the first one coming down the stairs. He swung his Buster Sword at the creature, but it knocked the downward cut off course, then turned to slash at him. Zack, stopped it with his sword, and while they were fighting for the better, the SOLDIER kicked the monster back into on of its friends. He backed up to join the two.

            "We can't fight take 'em right now! There're too many!" Sephiroth ran and tried the door, but it was still locked.

            "No good! It's still stuck!" He backed up and got out his Earth materia.

            "QUAKE!!!"

            No effect.

            "The hell?!" Zack cursed as he pushed another one back. "Why isn't it working!"

            "It's got a resist spell on it…" Sephiroth mused.

            "Resist…?" muttered Cloud, turning away from a monster to look at him. He turned back to Zack. "Hold them off for a moment!"

            "What!? You gotta be kidding!"

            Cloud searched his armor and weapons for a certain materia. "Come on… Where is it…."

            "Hurry Cloud!!" Shouted Zack and Sephiroth ran to help him.

            "Here it is!" Cloud grinned, finding the Destruct materia in his sword. He concentrated. "DeBarrier!"

            The resist charm around the door seemed to appear, just to shatter, and the door swung open.

            "Come on!" He signaled to the others, as the room began to fill with more icicles and flames.

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            Tifa looked up, hearing the door open, and Cloud ran out.

            "Cloud?" She grinned, but it disappeared when she saw who was behind him.

            "Sephiroth?!" Red, Vincent, her, and Yuffie got into a fighting stance, but Cloud shook his head.

            "No! There's no time to explain, but we gotta hurry!"

            Everyone nodded, and Tifa, Yuffie, Cloud, and Zack ran to the chain, Red, bounding up some ledges to reach the platform, and Sephiroth and Vincent jumped up.

Tifa cringed as she heard more roars behind her.

They exited the reactor, and everyone outside stared at them, shocked, but Tifa shook her head. "Just run!" They headed out the back door, into the room where the materia keeper was at, and heading through the path outside, they exited the Nibel Mountains.

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            Aeris watched them leave, emotionless. She looked down at the tormented creatures, more ice and fire kept appearing. She waved her hand, and they seemed to calm down, turning silent, and the shaking stopped.

            Just then, the trio teleported in. Each bowed as they arrived.

            "Welcome back, you three," he voice, like her face, was void of emotion.

            "Thank, Lady Aeris. I pray that it was a success?" Ranez asked respectfully.

            She shook her head, almost sorrowfully. "No. Sephiroth showed up. The Planet must have sent him. And Zack too… It doesn't matter, he'll come to sooner or later.

            They nodded. It wasn't until then Lodia looked down the stairs to see the creatures below, who were calmly standing around, doing nothing. "Er… Milady…"

            Aeris turned to her, eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

            "Well… What are _those_?"

            This time, they all turned to look down at them. Aeris started down the steps.

            "They… Were once human."

            Lodia gave a small gasp.

            "Woah…" muttered Avian.

            "Years and years of painful experimentation and injections of both Mako and Jenova cells. I'd be surprised if they were anything more than that. The only thing human about them is their appearance, and who knows how long that'll last."

            "Then the shaking…. The ice and fire…" mumbled Lodia.

            "The creatures, or Jenovains as Hojo preferred to call them, have abilities that even we can't attain with materia. Of course, they have little control over it, especially when angered, hence the magic attacks. Now come on, let's get out of here. This place is already a haven for bad memories."

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There! Plot twist! I'm so evil….

I'm trying to speed this up a bit, but this'll probably be the last chapter for a while, until Christmas. I have guard stuff to do..

Also, if you hadn't noticed yet, I stopped doing the music. It seemed pointless in my opinion. :/

KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS! I NEED QUESTIONS BY NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!

Still need couples

Current couples: SheraxCid, CloudxAeris, LodiaxRanez (for now)

People that can be picked for possible couples (and remember, this isn't yaoi, so keep it straight and possible, ^_^)

Tifa

Lodia

Avian

Vincent

Zack

Sephiroth

Rules: couples that I DON'T want: LodiaxRanez, LodiaxAvian, TifaxSephiroth

Make it possible ^_^

Also, go check out Jenova Cells by Neo-Sephiroth89 . It's kinda of graphic, so be forewarned, but I think Sephy fans will enjoy it.

Thanks to:

Neo-Sephiroth89: Yeah, I already mention the grammar errors. Ok, so I said spelling, close enough! Lol

Ah-Choo: lol yeah, I don't mind the coupling, but I dunno, it wouldn't work in my story.


	11. Rest and Frustration

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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            The team took the next day off, sleeping in, eating, and sharing stories. Zack was quite popular within the group, however, Cloud and Sephiroth, spent time alone, Sephiroth on the ship (the people of Kalm wouldn't exactly appreciate the idea he was back), and Cloud who knows where. 

            Flashback

            _They mounted the Highwind just as it started to take off, the screams of the beasts dying in the distance as the ship tore off toward safer grounds. They traveled far, the crew even shaken from the howls of the demented monsters. Landing by Kalm, they picked up supplies, especially food, and Tifa, Cait, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Zack, Red and Vincent headed for the inn to rest. All of them had questions, and knew they wouldn't get answers from Sephiroth or Cloud, but Zack look worn, so they agreed to rest. Upon awaking, they ordered food, exchanged names, and that's when it started._

_            Vincent was staring out the window, Barret, Zack and Red sat on the floor, and Cid, Yuffie, and Tifa sat on a bed._

_            "So, you're the infamous Zack…" Cait said. _

_            "Hm?" Zack raised an eyebrow, sipping from his cup. "What do you mean by 'infamous'?"_

_            "Long story," Barret stated, who received a hit on the head by Yuffie. "Ow! The hell was that for?"_

_             "Don't be so insensitive, Barret! He deserves to know!" Yuffie turned to him. "Cloud really holds you in high regard, Zack."_

_            Zack nodded. "He was always an eager kid, quiet and a bit naïve though. Always heartbroken when he found out the truth to things."_

_            "More than you know, Zack," Red interrupted. "But we'll leave that tale later to someone who can better tell it." He gave Tifa a look, and Zack looked at her. He nodded again. _I don't remember her being this silent…_ He thought._

_            "I mean not to be hasty, Zack, but could you explain what's going on?" Vincent said, looking away from the window for once.  _

_            "Yeah," he muttered, turning his gaze to the ground. "It's gotta seem weird, three dead people coming back-"_

_            "Wait a #$$#^%& minute!" Cid shouted. "What the hell do you mean three?!"_

_            Zack looked up again, pain and betrayal in his eyes. "There's three. Me, Sephiroth, and one other... The last one is an enemy of the planet, who has control over three warriors, and now an army of Jenovains."_

_            "Not… Jenova?" Cait whispered._

_            "No…. No, but you would wish it had been…" Zack nearly stuttered, lowering his head sorrowfully. He laughed, a sort of heartbroken laugh.  "It's almost ironic, you know? The fact that she saved the planet.. Now only to destroy it. It's so hard to look at Aeris and think that someone who was so kind is now the person I have to kill."_

_            Almost everyone in Kalm looked up, as the sound of shouts erupted from the inn._

_            "But what do you mean?_

_            "No.. I can't believe it!"_

_            "$%#^%^&* hell!"_

_            Zack calmed himself, and rose a hand to stop them. "Listen. There's a threat endangering the Planet. It's being led by Aeris, who is claiming we're all being used. She mentioned some sort of Overlord, but we don't know if such a being truly exists. She commands three people, Lodia, Avian, and Ranez, Ranez seems to be the leader. They're searching for a power of some sort, probably held in materia. Aeris's power has changed dramatically, gone from white magic to necromancy, and from the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be materia. What's worse, she wants Cloud, needs him for her plan. Sephiroth was sent by the planet to stop her, but was doubtful that Cloud would listen, so I was brought back as well. We managed to hold her off, but in return she has awakened the Jenovains, the creatures who were stored in the Jenova room. We haven't tried to bring one down yet, but no way will it be easy. The electric charge Aeris sent through them has caused them to adapt faster. They can survive on their own, not to mention, they have Jenova cells in them, so it will be extremely hard to kill one, let alone eleven. I don't know how she's doing it, but she's got them doing her will."_

_            "This must be worse than grave, for it's known to anyone who even briefly studies the Centra and the Planet that the Planet never brings back anyone unless the circumstances are over extreme," Red murmured_

_            "And we still don't even know the half of it." Zack shook his head._

/Flashback

            Zack headed toward the empty fields of Kalm.

            _"You should go explain it to him, Zack," Tifa had whispered. "Please, he'll only believe you."_

He shook his head. On the hill side facing the ocean sat the young mercenary. He rested his chin on his arms on his knees, blank eyes pondering the waves.

            "Hey." 

            He approached him. Cloud didn't respond. He took a seat next to him, using one arm on the ground to hold his balance, the other on a knee bent to his chest. For a few moments neither said anything, as Zack watched the sun begin to set on the horizon.

            "Why?" 

            Zack raised both brows, startled by the shaken, tired voice of the young Strife. He waited for him to continue.  Clouds eyes twinkled in the dying sunlight, and for a moment, he looked exactly like he did when he was fifteen, fragile and torn.

            He closed his eyes. "She said she would come back… Come back when it was all over…"

            Zack gave him a sorrowful look, unsure of what to say.

            "When will it be over?"

            The true Ex-SOLDIER looked back to the waves. "No one will know Cloud. But for now, what matters is that we protect the Planet."

            "Does it?"

            He looked back at Cloud, who had a sick grin on his face, glazed eyes, sparkling on the outside from the unshed tears, dull inside, he laughed, and the image was almost lost. He stood up, the ocean spray on his hair like morning dew.

            "She promised. She promised that she'd come back if she gave her life to save the Planet. But she never did. The Planet never let her come back to me." He sneered. "And what do I get in return? Another chance to risk my life and the lives of the others again? Last time, I fought for money, then I fought for my past, and when Aeris died, I fought for her. Now, I have to try to kill her. What do I have to fight for now?" The false humor finally melted into anger.

            "You still have your friends, Cloud," Zack offered softly, standing up with him. 

            "What's left of them!" Cloud looked at him for the first time, and the look on his face made even Zack squirm slightly. "Jesse, Biggs, Wedge, and Aeris all died for the f***ing Planet! And what about you?!"

            "Cloud, I came back for a reason, the Planet needs our help!" Zack nearly yelled, almost desperately. He rested a hand on Cloud's shoulder to comfort him, but Cloud pulled away angrily.

            "Exactly," he muttered dangerously low. "I'm beginning to think Aeris was right. We _are_ tools for the Planet, and face it Zack, you and Sephiroth are living proof of it." He started to storm off. Zack was taken aback from his words.

            _But I've got a mission, to protect him from Aeris, and whether he likes it or not, I'll be damned if I don't keep it._

            Zack gritted his teeth. He ran after Cloud, and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around. Cloud, furious, pushed him away with one hand. However, Zack, who was starting to get rather pissed, recovered, grabbing both of his shoulders. Cloud did the same, and a struggle ensued as Cloud attempted to push Zack away again.

            "Why won't… you just leave.. me alone!" hissed Cloud.

            "Why the hell are you so pissed!?" Zack shot back.

            "Oh… and you're not!?" Cloud pulled back, and Zack stumbled forward slightly. 

            "Don't lie Zack! I know you're just as ticked as I am! You don't want to hurt her anymore than I do! Well, maybe you can manage to put your feelings aside on this, but I can't!"

            Zack seethed at this. Was he calling him heartless?

 But no, he kept his calm. "Fine, Cloud, what is it you want then?"

            "What I want?" Cloud lowered his voice, and the tears threatened to fall. He began to shake. "I want her back!"

            "Cloud, you gotta admit, she did come back, just not the way you would have liked it," he hissed.

            "Don't try that kind of nonsense on me, _Zack_," he growled his name out so darkly. "Why should I help the Planet when it's done nothing for me but given me hell?"

            "Oh, so it's the Planet's fault! The fact it gave you a life, and you just didn't get what you wanted?"

            "No! It's Sephiroth's fault for killing her! It's Jenova's fault for using him in the first place! It's the Cetras' fault for believing her lies! Ghast for discovering her!" His voice began to weaken, getting quieter by the moment, and the tears started to fall. "It's Barret's fault for allowing me to join AVALANCHE, Tifa's fault for encouraging me to stay…" His voice had almost reach a whisper, and all anger in Zack was lost, feeling heartbroken for his friend. "And…"

            "And it's my fault for meeting her in the first place…… It all leads back to me…." With this, he fell into a kneel, bent over with his hand on the ground, his body shaking with silent sobs. Zack gazed at him with compassion. He kneeled by his friend, once again resting a hand on his shoulder. This time, he succeeded.

            "Cloud…."

            "Zack… For a good portion of my life, I lived a lie. I had no memories of my own, I was you for six years. Then.. I met her…. And she knew… .She knew I wasn't me… And though she couldn't tell me who I was… She hinted that I wasn't being myself… Where Tifa lost courage to tell me, she began to show me the light… And when she … "He wiped the tears away, his voice calming to normal, and he stopped shaking. "When I let her die, when I saw Sephiroth slaughter her in front of me.. It must have been the first time since I could remember that I cried. First time I really showed emotion. And I began to realize I wasn't entirely a puppet. No matter what Sephiroth said, No matter how much I fell for what he said, I always remembered what Aeris had said…. Had done…" He sat back, his frustration gone, exhausted from his emotional outburst. "I'm sorry Zack…"

            _Back to being the old Cloud. _Zack grinned.

            "It's alright. We're going to pull through on this one. There's gotta be a way to help her."

            Cloud nodded, his voice filled with unsure fatigue. "Yeah, we can't give up. We never did before, why start now?"

            Zack grinned. "Exactly. Now, let's get the gang back to the airship, so we can discuss what we're gonna do. I'll explain everything as we walk back.

            Cloud nodded again. "Thanks Zack…"

            "Anytime man, anytime…."

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SSJ4 Sailor Menz: Yeah, I like this one too, mainly because It's starting to get stuff moving. ^^'

Noleriand: Thanks, I was aiming for that. Got bored of reading the same kind of thing.

ch3m: Nope, I won't forget it. The other day, I was thinking of doing Tifa/Seph, but well, I still don't think she would be happy with him after he, ya know, killed her dad, burned her town, nearly killed Cloud and herself, and tried to destroy the world… And no that wasn't sarcasm. I am, however thinking of doing a Tifa/Seph friendship.

So, blah blah blah excuse blah blah blah busy blah blah blah got bored.

Moving on, I decided to change how I'm doing this. I'll write down possibilities, and you can tell me whether you like them or not.

Obviously, this is Cloud/Aeris, so yeah.

Possibilities:

CidxShera

TifaxSeph friendship

TifaxZack

AvianxYuffie Bro/sis friendship

Also, if you want to, pick who you want Lodia or Avian to be with. I can't decide nor think of any. ^^'

And if you don't understand something, ask in the reviews.


	12. Lost in Confusion

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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         The party entered the silent town. The wind blew softly as if to greet them, but she could only feel slightly anxious at the sight. She turned to her teammates. Lodia was glancing around, taking in the scenery. Avian was kicking at the ground, bored. Ranez has his eyes closed, his gently, quiet breaths barely audible over the howling wind. She snapped her fingers, they glanced at her attentively, and she jerked her head to the nearby inn.  They nodded and headed that way. She meant to join them, but stopped as she reached the door. Avian and Lodia entered, but Ranez, sensing her feelings, turned to her.

         "Milady?"

         She shook her head. "Not like this. We spent too much time in Rocket Town. The world can't know of my existence yet." She turned to walk off, but stopped for a moment. "Tell Lodia to tend to the chocobo, and make sure Avian gets our supplies. I'll be back shortly." He nodded and walked in. Meanwhile she headed over to a nearby clothes shop and walked inside. It was empty, but she could hear the sound of boxes being torn open in the back. Aeris shook her head. _This makes it easier._

         She gazed at the clothes. Most of it was common day clothing. Almost all of it for the women were dresses. She shook her head ago. It wouldn't do, but it wasn't like she could run to Kalm for clothing. She decided she would have ot make her own clothing. She found a pair of form-fitting shorts that didn't show anything bad, and a tight sleeveless black shirt. She then found a high neck button up long-sleeved white coat, which was so long that the bottom almost touched the floor. She then went to the shoe section, and picked up a pair of black-ankle-cuffed  white boots. She went to the accessory department finally to pick up a simple silver belt, black gloves, and, because she was still a woman, a pair of gold earrings. The lady was still working in the back, so she left more than enough gil for her and left. She went next door to a sewing shop, where she bought a pair of scissors, some black and white string, and a needle. She asked to borrow a table to work at, and went to work.

         An hour later, she was done. She cropped the bottom of the black shirt so that it came an inch below her chest. The shorts and shoes were left as they were. The jacket however, was cut in two at the waist. The top part was cropped as well, but only half an inch. She removed all of the buttons except for the two at the neck, and from the last button, she made a v cut to her chest, then went straight down for the rest. On the bottom part, she cut the opening a bit back each way so it would flow better, then attached the belt so she could adjust it. Finished, she left the supplies there, no longer needing them, and as she walked out, bowed to the woman, and left. Reaching an ally, she changed putting the gloves and earring on as well. She took out her hair, letting it spill over her shoulder. Finished, she gazed at her old clothing. Then, feeling angered at the sight of it, held her hand out, as a jet of flame was expelled from it, setting the clothes aflame.

         She watched it burn, and the anger melted away. She felt like she could cry, but didn't understand what for. She shook her head and left the ally. She reached the inn and went inside, but before she reached the stairs, the man at the desk called out to her.

         "Hey!"

         She froze, her heart skipped a beat, and she slowly pivoted to look at him.

         "I'm sorry ma'am, but you'll have to book a room first."

         She sighed in relief. She could remember knowing this man…

         Aeris nearly gasped. Something was wrong.

         "Ma'am?"

         She looked at him, like she had never seen him before, then blinked, brought back to the present.

         "Er, my friends are here. They already got us a room." Her voice was croaky.

         "Hmmm…" He flipped through a booklet on the desk he sat at. "Oh yes! I'm assuming you are with the two boys and the missus that just came in!"

         She nodded.

         "Well, I'm sorry ma'am for giving you a hard time. Have a nice night.

         She nodded, and started to walk off, when he spoke again.

         "Wait.. Haven't I seen you before?"

         Aeris didn't move, didn't breath, until she muttered. "No, I've never been here before." Next thing she knew, she was running up the stairs. As she reached her empty room, she ran inside, and slammed the door shut, gasping for breath. But it wasn't the close call that worried her.

         _What…..what had he said to me before!??!_

         She strained herself. She had come here with Cloud, seven years ago…

         _Yes…_

         And she had stayed in this inn, 7 years ago.

         _Yes._

And she could recall the horrid smell of smoke and the alcohol in the air…

         _Yes!_

And she had talked to the innkeeper, 7 years ago…

         _Yes!!!_

_         So why can't I  remember the conversation?!_

         She was beginning to panic, when someone knocked at the door, she turned around and opened it, staring into Avian's green eyes.

         "I got your equipment, milady, and what you asked for." E sauntered in, dropping the items on the bed. He turned to see what she was wearing.

         "Not bad, I think I'll pick me up something as well." And with that, he headed out.

         She walked over to see what he had brought her, her fears drifting away almost instantly. Her eyes first fell upon a silver circlet adorned with a deep emerald in the center. She equipped it, enjoying how it went with her outfit. Next was a pink, shimmering ribbon. She nearly gagged at the color, but it was vital, so she tied it around her wrist. The sleeve of the jacket hid it from view. Next, she picked up the Edin Coat Armlet. She couldn't help but grimace. Cloud and his team would definitely have better equipment, but it was all Rocket Town had. She sighed, and snapped the thin braces onto her wrist.

         Finally, she picked up the second-to-last, and most important item. She held two rapier blades, the silver blades spotless, the handles plain, minus the two connected holes inside that were meant for materia. She glanced onto the bed, picking up the green materia. She held it in her hand, trying to remember the feel of it as to remember the type.

         Time. This was a time materia.  She frowned. It wouldn't be much use, as she couldn't use the power of Life stream anymore. However, it could enhance the weapon.

         _It would have been better if it was an elemental. A fire materia could give extra damage…. Well, at least it'll give me a speed edge._

         She laid the weapons at the foot of the bed, and, without changing, went to sleep.

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         "No need to fret, we're here," announced Cloud as he and Zack entered the Conference room. The rest of AVALANCHE, plus Sephiroth, were already inside. Cloud walked to the head of the table, Zack on his left side, Sephiroth between the two, as they were the only ones who could look at him and not flinch, minus Red. Tifa stood on his right, Barret next to her, Red next to him, Yuffie at the other end, Cait next to her, then Vincent.

         "Well, now that we're all $&& here, why don't we start out by pulling together what we know, eh?" Stated Cid as he lit his cigarette.

         "Yeah, good idea," muttered Barret. He looked at Cloud.

         Cloud gazed back before sighing. "Well, we know who our enemy is. It IS Aeris, and we are all going to have to face that…" He paused before continuing.  "She is defying the Planet for some reason, of which we don't know why, and she's trying to find something, which we don't know what. She's tried Midgar, Gongaga and Nibelheim, but hasn't found it. Corel has been dried up and cleared out, so all that leaves is the underwater reactor…"

         "But, they're heading north! Wouldn't it have been faster to go to the closer ones and work their way up?"

         "Unless.." Sephiroth hissed, startling the room save Zack with his voice. He looked up to Cloud, "…They're going to the Crater.."

         "Of course!" exclaimed Cloud. "Whatever they're looking for would have to be there! Cid!"

         "Already on it!" Shouted Cid as he was out the door.

         ""Right, the only thing we can do is try and stop them. We should be at Costa Del Sol in thirty minutes, once Cid gives them a head up. It's too late to try and reach the Crater, plus we need rest. We'll head off tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock sharp."

         "Is that it?" Yuffie asked. Cloud nodded. "Good!" She grabbed her mouth, turning green as she ran outside. Sighing, the group headed out one by one.

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         The wind left burns on Sephiroth's skin, yet it felt inviting to the touch. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the last time he actually enjoyed the fresh smell of the outdoors, yet failing miserably. He could barely remember anything from his time of insanity, and nothing even before that. He sighed, gazing at the water zipping by. No wonder he wasn't a decent example of humanity. He couldn't even decide if he was born or created, let alone remember his childhood.

         _All I have are visions of scream and cries, of green lights, of splattered blood, of that demon I called Mother… and how I enjoyed it all…._

He rested his fore arms on the railing, gazing over the edge. He didn't notice Tifa walk up beside him, looking out as well, but he was too deep in his thoughts to care.

         "Can I help you?" He asked meekly, still absorbed in the enveloping darkness of the ocean.

         "No." Her voice had an edge to it. She turned to him, her expression a complete opposite, gentle and caring. "But maybe I can help you."

         He met her eyes. "The only thing that could help me is something I can't have, as well as something I don't want."

         "I don't understand."

         He stood upright, his face portraying the emotion in his heart. "I don't deserve to be forgiven for what I am done. Forgiveness won't bring back you father, Cloud's mother, Nibelheim, Midgar…… "

         "Is it so hard?" She asked, turning to him.

         "How about this? Will you forgive me for burning down your town, killing your father, killing Aeris, and destroying your life?"

         "…Yes." But she could even tell that her words betrayed her thoughts.

         He leaned against the railing again. "As I said, I don't deserve it."

         She paused, lost, then sighed. "Your right. I can't forgive you. I can't even think about it." She looked back over. "But what I can do is give you another chance."

         "Chances…. That's all I've been getting," he muttered. "Why is everyone so keen on giving me another chance? What if I try to destroy the Planet again?"

"Because, Sephiroth, you're human. Human's make mistakes. We're nto perfect. So when learn from that mistakes, and the second time, we do it right. We don't get that second chance because we want it, it's because me need it. You're not the same as you were 7 years ago. 7 Years ago you were confused and hurt, and someone came by to take the pain away. That just so happened to be Jenova. If I had been you, I would've done the same thing, and it probably would've been you dealing that final cut with a sword at the Crater."

         Sephiroth was stunned, taking it all in. 12 years ago, Tifa had been the eager 15 year old wanting to tour them through the Nibel Mountains. Now, here she was, telling the near-destroyer of the Planet that it was ok, because he was human.

         He smiled at that. He WAS human.

         "Thank you Tifa. At times I forget I'm not the same as those Jenovains."

         She smiled

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Cheez3Bree: Works for me. J

Dark Valentine: Not entirely. And thanks for the comment!

I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS FIC!!! IT WILL SURVIVE!!!!!!

Mee hee hee.

K, the couples are as follow:

CloudxAeris

SephirothxTifa Friendship

VincentxTifa

I NEED TO PAIR UP LODIA AND AVIAN!!!! PLEASE GIVE ME IDEAS!!!

If you have a pairing idea, let me know. (even if it has Tifa, I'll still think about it, I'm not sure)

If you have a question, please let me know.


	13. Visions, Dreams, and Heroic Chocobos

Spoiled Yet Selfless

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy characters are owned by Squaresoft and not by me yadda, yadda, yadda. I you are reading this, then I pity you.

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            The visions came, colorless, fast, and sharp as if she had eyes of an eagle.

            FLASH!

            _Four chocobos crossing the ocean…_

FLASH!

            _ An airship descending into the crater…_

FLASH!

            _She slid down the mountainside into the misty abyss, the people watched as she went…_

FLASH!

            _She ands the four others dropped in front of a doorway, and she turned and began talking to someone that stood outside what she was seeing…_

FLASH!

            _A battle erupted, a stuffed moogle came up behind a man in a cloak, knocking him to the ground…_

FLASH!

            _She stood in front of a large crystal, its glow caused the room to seem endless, she reached out to touch it…_

FLASH!

            She sat up, and instantly looked around. When she realized that the room she was in was an inn bedroom, Aeris tried to calm her rapid heart. This had been the fourth time she had these sort of 'dreams', if you could call them that. They weren't dreams at all, however, but 'instructions' that her Overlord sent to tell her of her objectives. It was how she was always a step ahead of Cloud and his group…

Cloud… 

Her hand clenched the bed sheet absentmindedly, her teeth ground against each other. How _dare _he tell her no?!

_I offered him paradise! An eternity with me! And he turns me down!_

She felt the anger rise in her like a thermal of hot air.

_Zack… That traitor!! It's his fault!!! Cloud was his friend! And he fed them all of those lies…. Just wait until I get my hands on him… I've been waiting to try out my new blades…_

It took a moment before those  words actually settled in her mind. And when they did, she felt ashamed.

What am I doing…? I… I've never thought things like this before… And Zack, he's just misguided as well….

            "AAAAAGH!!!!"

            The pain, just like at Corel. It attacked in waves, bringing stinging tears to her eyes. It felt like the nerves in her body where white hot and full of static.

            Why does this keep happening to me…?!

            It stopped a moment later, and she feel to her knees, winded. Her body trembled, and it wasn't from the short breaths she was taking.

            Listen to your heart, child, remember how you used to felt.

            "Ugh… Shut UP!" She clapped her hands over her ears. "When will you learn, you accursed being, that you don't control my life anymore!"

            She stood up, grabbed her only belonging in her room, her dual swords, and stomped out of the room.

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            Lodia took in a deep breath, a nearly choked on the salty air. She shook her head, and stared out into the sea…

            Flashback

            Rocket Town was finally coming into sight. Lodia couldn't have been more thankful to see it. For one thing, she was dead tired, and for another, she wasn't exactly found of the Jenovains.

            Their Mistress stopped and turned to face the 11 that had wandered behind them. They stopped as well, arcing in front of her, grunting, an odd green mist escaping from their mouths. For those who had armor (which Avian had gotten them before they left the mountains),  the metal clanged noisily in the wind. Aeris began to speak; her voice had a sharpness Lodia hadn't heard before.

            "Continue to the crater. When you reach there, I want you four," she looked at four armorless creatures," to station yourselvess around the outer edge of the crater. Then you and you," she pointed to one of the two creatures decked in normal armor, and at one of the two creatures who wore sashes, bangles, and other kinds of accessories," to be halfway down one of the paths, and you and you," she pointed down the other two, "to be down the other path. Finally, you and you," Lodia turned to set her eyes on the largest of them all, almost invisible under the armor and weaponry it had, and then looked at the one next to it, smaller, thinner, who wore leathery clothes and had a black cloak. It had a bow in its hand, "to find the crystal and stand guard outside the room. As for you," she turned to another of the cloth less Jenovains, "find a man clothes in black, with a long swords and silver hair. Kill him." The creature roared, its scream loud and deafening, and ran off back the way they had come. She turned to the others. "Go."

            The creatures, turned to the ocean, grunting continuously. Lodia watched, wondering what would happen next, how they intended to cross the gigantic ocean. The beasts neared the water, undaunted by the crashes of the freezing waves, and, without flinching, walked straight into the water. One by one, they disappeared from view, until the last one was gone.

            /Flashback

            Lodia gazed down, the footprints from the beast still there. She sighed, not sure how she should feel.

            "Hey."

            She looked up, smiling at Ranez, who wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're up early."

            "Couldn't sleep well."

            "Bad dreams?"

            She barked a laugh out. "Ha, ha. Funny."

            He frowned. "Do you miss dreaming?"

            She looked back at the ocean. "Maybe. I don't know. I guess I do, but it won't matter once this is over. All of our dreams, well, our dreams from before, will have come true."

            He held her closer. "Care to share those dreams? You used to before, but now I can't remember them."

            "I was hoping you would, because neither can I."

            An awkward silence rose between them, then…

            "If you could dream again, what would they be of?"

            She thought hard and long. "I guess…. To be how things were.. Before the Overlord saved us… Before Wutai had ever been attacked by Midgar." She held her hand up to her heart, as if to feel an imaginary scar. "I can still remember the pain, and it keeps feeling like everyday it hurts a little more…"

            "You, too?" Ranez turned to her, then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Don't worry, it's almost over. Just wait a little longer. He'll make it all right, and we'll live like we used to…."

            She nodded, fighting the tears that threatened to spill.

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            The water rippled as the Highwind passed overhead. The control room was mostly quiet, even though there were two more people on it that before. Sephiroth and Zack whispered to each other, their conversation inaudible under the screeching of machinery in the other room. Both Red and Vincent were silent. Cait and Yuffie were arguing while Barret was about three feet away ready to kill them both. Cid stood over the pilot's shoulder, giving him a hard time as usual. Just like old times.

            Cloud shook his heads. He didn't want to, couldn't afford to think of old times. Everything led back to her…

            Instead, he walked over to Tifa, who stood next to the glass, watching the waves before.

            She looked at him, smiling. "How are you doing?"

            He shrugged. "Fine I guess."

            She gazed back out. "You're taking this a lot better than before."

            "Before?" He looked at her, truly confused. She nodded.

            "I don't' mean to rub it in, but you had her, and you lost her, again."

            The was a silence as he thought about this, then she muttered quickly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

            He shook his head. "No, you're right. It is like before… But…" He crossed hit arms and looked down, thinking. "I guess, what's different this time around is that, well, there still might be a way to help her." She nodded, and Cloud, unsure of what to say, left to see Cid. Tifa gazed at her reflection in the mirror.

            Please Aeris…. I've broken his heart too many times… Don't be like me, come back to us.. to him…

            She tried to control her emotions; she didn't want everyone asking her questions-

            And without any sign of warning, the whole airship shuddered, everyone falling over as it tipped.

            "What the hell was dat!?" Barret cursed, pulling himself off a whining Yuffie ("You idiot! You nearly flattened me!").

            "%#&%," Cid shouted, looking at the controls. "The hell could it be? There ain't %$% out there!"

            The airship tipped again, this time everyone managed to grab hold of something, minus Yuffie, who fell again ("God I'm gonna be sick!"), and pulled herself to her feet, running out into the engine room.

            "What's going on!?" cried Tifa, as Vincent pulled Cait's mog to its feet.

            "Not a %$&& clue! There isn't a cloud for miles!" Cd started, checking more gauges.

            "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

            "%$$# What now!?"

            "Wait…" Cait started. "That sounded like Yuffie!"

            "Cid! Get the ship under control!" Cloud shouted, then ran out, everyone else following him.

            "Alright, you $%#%&$, let's do this!" Cid ordered as they got to work.

            Cloud ran onto the catwalk just in time to see his golden chocobo hit whatever it was that was attacking it into the wall, the force causing the ship to tip again. Barret grabbed Cloud to keep him from falling over, Red and Cait crouched low to avoid tripping, and Vincent and Sephiroth, who had just entered, leaned onto the wall. Tifa, due to her smaller size, slipped, and would have fallen off into the machinery below hadn't Zack reached out to grab her by the waist.

            "Thanks.." She huffed, glancing at the rotating gears below.

            "It would've been one hell of a mess to clean," Zack grimaced. They looked up to see what was causing the problem.

            "How the hell did it follow us here!?" Barret yelled as they gazed at the Jenovain which had gotten to its feet, growling as it looked at them all, Cloud ran forwards so that they could all get off the catwalk. The creature roared, the room shaking with its voice, and it charged at Sephiroth. Having no time to unsheathe his weapon, he grabbed it, deflecting the blows from the creature's claws with the sheath. Tifa ran to calm the chocobo, leading it back to the stables. Cloud looked to Zack, who nodded, and the two ran to help Sephiroth. Vincent and Barret ran to grab Yuffie, who was in shock. Cait went after Tifa.

            Sephiroth knocked the creature away, dodging as it attacked again. He put quite a bit of distance between it and himself, where Zack and Cloud ran to join him.

            "How could it have tracked us down!?" growled Cloud as he readied his Ultima Weapon.

            "The humanity in them it gone; they're only Mako and Jenova cells now…" hissed Sephiroth. The creature jumped, but Sephiroth side-stepped, giving Zack time to slash forward, the creature ducked, however, and as Zack was almost on top of him, it grabbed him and threw the poor young man over tis shoulder at Cloud. Cloud sweatdropped as Zack came flying at him (Zack: "WooooOOOHAAHHHH!!") and dropped his sword, trying to catch him. He failed miserably as  Zack nailed him in the chest, knocking him to the ground as well as the wind out of him. Zack got up, grinning apologetically.

            "Sorry, man," he said, offering a hand.

            "Yeah, yeah… Just lay off the steroids, alright?" Cloud grinned as Zack smirked at the joke.

            "Well, as much as I'd rather wait to see the expressions on your faces when I'm properly beheaded, would you guys care to help?" Sephiroth said calmly as he parried another blow. Cloud grabbed his sword and ran forward, and as the monster jumped back to avoid the Masamune's sharp edge, he aimed a horizontal slice. He caught the monster across the arm, a deep gash that made its arm unusable. It roared in pain, and Sephiroth used the opportunity to run it through with his sword. It screamed again, Zack and Cloud wincing from the sound, and pulled itself free of Sephiroth's grasp, the Masamune embedded in its chest. It then backhanded Sephiroth, and limped over to the fallen man, stepping on him with on foot at his chest to hold him down, its clawed hand ready to kill. Zack wasted no time, grabbing out a fire materia and concentrating.

            "FIRE 3!!!"

 More screams. It pulled off the silver-haired man, roaring as it tried to put the fire out. It twitched, and fell to the ground, sputtering before it died. Zack breathed slowly before he walked over to pull Sephiroth up. "Damn, that thing wouldn't leave you alone."

He nodded, ripping his sword out of the corpse. "Ten more of these to go. Aeris must be making her run at the Crater now. We must hurry." The other men nodded, when Cid decided to run in.

"Did you find out what was-" he stopped, gaping at the monster. "How the hell did that piece of $#% get onto my baby?! And is that where that smell was coming from?! Hey!" He stuck is head into the control room. "New kid! Get in here and clean this up! It's bad enough with Yuffie's barfing!"

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Wolfwood11: Lol, I already sent you the email, so you already know.

K, I officially have the couples planned! And other than C/A, I'm not giving any more words on this topic. It's half the plot!

Ask me questions if you're confused on what's happening. Even the small things. I need to get stuff explained, and its hard when I know the answers, but aren't sure if they're getting to you.

A little action here, more thoughts. I want to build up the characters. There'll be lots of fighting next chapter!

Gonna be in Yosemite for a week, so it'll be a while til I update. I wasn't planning on updating, since no one was reviewing, but you all have Wolf Wood to thank for that. :/ Come on ppl, I don't set my standards THAT high, lol.


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